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Coffee Shop Talk - Singapore fund has stakes in UK bailout </TD><TD id=msgunetc noWrap align=right>
Subscribe </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE class=msgtable cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="96%"><TBODY><TR><TD class=msg vAlign=top><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgbfr1 width="1%"> </TD><TD><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0><TBODY><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgF noWrap align=right width="1%">From: </TD><TD class=msgFname noWrap width="68%">life369 <NOBR></NOBR> </TD><TD class=msgDate noWrap align=right width="30%">6:06 am </TD></TR><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgT noWrap align=right width="1%" height=20>To: </TD><TD class=msgTname noWrap width="68%">ALL <NOBR></NOBR></TD><TD class=msgNum noWrap align=right> (1 of 1) </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgleft width="1%" rowSpan=4> </TD><TD class=wintiny noWrap align=right>8322.1 </TD></TR><TR><TD height=8></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgtxt>The Singapore sovereign wealth fund, Temasek Holdings, has stakes in banks being bailed out by Britain. It is the biggest shareholder of Standard Chartered, holding a 19 percent stake, and also has a 2 percent stake in Barclays as of March 31, 2008, according to its website.
Standard Chartered and Barclays have both signed up for the 400 billion pound ($692 billion) rescue package along with other leading British banks, HSBC, Abbey, HBOS, Lloyds TSB, Nationwide Building Society and Royal Bank of Scotland, reports BBC. The plan partially nationalises major British banks in a bid to restore economic stability, reports AP. Standard Chartered welcomed the plan, according to Reuters.
Different in Singapore
But if a bank fails in Singapore, the Singapore government is not obliged to help depositors. While Singapore dollar savings, current and fixed-term deposits are insured up to 20,000 Singapore (about $13,200), the amount is to be paid from the Deposit Insurance Scheme, from premiums paid by banks that are members of the scheme. It is administered by the Singapore Deposit Insurance Corporation, which explicitly says it is not part of the government but a company limited by guarantee under the Companies Act and its board of directors is accountable to the minister in charge of the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
When asked why the insured amount was not being increased, Singapore Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said the cost would ultimately have to be borne by the consumer.
Germany, Ireland, Greece, Denmark and Spain have all extended full, 100 percent guarantees for bank deposits. Britain has increased the guaranteed sum from 35,000 pounds to 50,000 pounds. The European Union has raised the amount from 20,000 euros to 50,000 euros.
Singapore sovereign wealth funds could also be expected to benefit from US rescue measures which last month stopped short-selling of financial stocks such as Merrill Lynch, of which Temasek Holdings was the biggest shareholder until the Wall Street firm was bought by Bank of America, and Citigroup, in which the Government of Singapore Corporation has a stake.
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Standard Chartered and Barclays have both signed up for the 400 billion pound ($692 billion) rescue package along with other leading British banks, HSBC, Abbey, HBOS, Lloyds TSB, Nationwide Building Society and Royal Bank of Scotland, reports BBC. The plan partially nationalises major British banks in a bid to restore economic stability, reports AP. Standard Chartered welcomed the plan, according to Reuters.
Different in Singapore
But if a bank fails in Singapore, the Singapore government is not obliged to help depositors. While Singapore dollar savings, current and fixed-term deposits are insured up to 20,000 Singapore (about $13,200), the amount is to be paid from the Deposit Insurance Scheme, from premiums paid by banks that are members of the scheme. It is administered by the Singapore Deposit Insurance Corporation, which explicitly says it is not part of the government but a company limited by guarantee under the Companies Act and its board of directors is accountable to the minister in charge of the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
When asked why the insured amount was not being increased, Singapore Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said the cost would ultimately have to be borne by the consumer.
Germany, Ireland, Greece, Denmark and Spain have all extended full, 100 percent guarantees for bank deposits. Britain has increased the guaranteed sum from 35,000 pounds to 50,000 pounds. The European Union has raised the amount from 20,000 euros to 50,000 euros.
Singapore sovereign wealth funds could also be expected to benefit from US rescue measures which last month stopped short-selling of financial stocks such as Merrill Lynch, of which Temasek Holdings was the biggest shareholder until the Wall Street firm was bought by Bank of America, and Citigroup, in which the Government of Singapore Corporation has a stake.
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