Singapore's Temasek To Rule Out Investment In Aramco IPO

Temasek's focus on sustainability and environmental, social and governance principles made it more difficult to support Saudi Aramco's share sale

Singapore's Temasek to rule out investment in Aramco IPO
Saudi Aramco has been courting funds globally to act as cornerstone investors, including Temasek, which had a net portfolio value of S$313 billion ($227 billion) as of March 31.

Singapore’s Temasek Holdings Pte has decided against investing in Saudi Aramco’s initial public offering, in part over environmental concerns, according to people familiar with the matter.

The world’s most-profitable company first flagged a public share sale in 2016 and is expected to list with a valuation of between $1.1 trillion to $2 trillion later this year. It’s been courting funds globally to act as cornerstone investors, including Temasek, which had a net portfolio value of S$313 billion ($227 billion) as of March 31.

But Temasek’s focus on sustainability and environmental, social and governance principles made it more difficult to support Aramco’s share sale, the people said, asking not to be identified because the discussions are private. Temasek has a 2030 goal to reduce the carbon emissions of its portfolio companies by 50%.

A Temasek spokesman declined to comment on talks the firm may have had with individual companies, or the outcomes of any of those discussions. Temasek has highlighted ESG assessments are a key factor in its decision making, alongside commercial considerations, he said via email.

Representatives for Aramco didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Temasek International Chief Executive Officer Dilhan Pillay was more direct last month when asked by Bloomberg Radio about which investment areas Temasek was avoiding as part of its focus on sustainability.

“I don’t think we’re going to be investing in fossil fuels,” he said, without referencing Aramco.

Temasek’s stance highlights a growing risk facing fossil-fuel producers. An increasing number of developed-market funds are under pressure to avoid investments that directly contribute to climate change. This could limit firms’ sources of capital, making funding more expensive.

The move not to back Aramco doesn’t preclude Temasek from making other potentially contentious investments in the future. It’s also a legacy investor in Keppel Corp., which constructs oil and gas rigs.

For all the latest banking and finance news from the UAE and Gulf countries, follow us on Twitter and Linkedin, like us on Facebook and subscribe to our YouTube page, which is updated daily.
RECENT NEWS

UAEs Maseera Acquires Egyptian Fintech ADVA

The move marks a critical milestone in Maseera’s regional expansion strategy Read more

Oman Mandates IBAN For Domestic Transfers From July 2025

The move follows the Oman Central Bank's implementation of the IBAN system for international transfers from March 31, 2... Read more

Egypt And Jordan Thank The European Parliament For New Financial Aid

The European Union members recently approved loans worth $4.4 billion in three instalments to Egypt and $555 million to... Read more

Standard Chartereds SC Ventures To Replicate Asia, Africa SME Model In GCC

SC Ventures to bring its successful SME building strategy in India, South East Asia and Africa to GCC, and plans to rol... Read more

UAE Central Bank Revokes Licence Of Dynamics Insurance Brokers For Regulatory Breaches

Dynamics Insurance Brokers "failed to comply with the licensing terms and requirements issued by the Central Bank and w... Read more

Eid Al Fitr Holidays In The GCC; Dubais 100 Most Influential People; UAE Petrol Prices To Change; Royal Baby Announced – 10 Things You Missed This Week

Eid holidays, the Dubai 100, UAE petrol prices, Royal Baby named, Palm Jebel Ali investments and more top news stories ... Read more