(Kitco News) -
Temasek, the Singapore-based state-owned investment fund, announced on Thursday that it would write off the full amount of its $275 million equity investment in FTX, which it made after an eight-month due diligence process and extensive communication with management at the now-bankrupt exchange raised no red flags.
Temasek wrote that they believe “exchanges form a key part of global financial systems” and their goal with FTX was “to invest in a leading digital asset exchange” that had “a fee income model and no trading or balance sheet risk.”
Temasek paid $210 million for a 1% minority stake in FTX International and $65 million for a 1.5% minority stake in FTX US from October 2021 to January 2022. The fund noted that the combined stakes represented only 0.09% of their S$403 billion net portfolio as of March 31, 2022.
“Similar to all investments, we conducted an extensive due diligence process on FTX, which took approximately 8 months from February to October 2021,” they wrote. “During this time, we reviewed FTX’s audited financial statement, which showed it to be profitable.” Temasek wrote that they looked at regulatory and cybersecurity risks and sought advice from “external legal and cybersecurity specialists in key jurisdictions.”
They also engaged in a separate process of gathering “qualitative feedback on the company and management team based on interviews with people familiar with the company, including employees, industry participants, and other investors,” and that engagement with FTX management continued after the investments were made.
“It is apparent from this investment that perhaps our belief in the actions, judgment and leadership of Sam Bankman-Fried, formed from our interactions with him and views expressed in our discussions with others, would appear to have been misplaced,” they wrote. “We expect companies that we invest in to comply with their obligations under the laws and regulations of jurisdictions in which they have investments or operations; abide by sound corporate governance; and above all act ethically always.”
Temasek emphasized that this was exclusively an equity investment. “To clarify, we currently have no direct exposure in cryptocurrencies.”
The company wrote that they “continue to recognize the potential of blockchain applications and decentralized technologies,” but they also recognize that because the industry is so new, there are “significant risks involved.”
