Former Temasek CEO Ho Ching Speaks Out on FTX Loss
Posted on 11/26/2022
In a social media post, Ho Ching, the long-time former CEO of Temasek Holdings wrote, “A loss is a loss, and always painful.
A loss in what may turn out to be a badly managed company without adult supervision is egg on our face.
I am glad that Temasek has made a clear decision to write down this investment to zero.
This helps clear the head on what to do as a next step, without being blinkered by wishful thinking.
FTX is being put through bankruptcy process.
Folks are right – it does not mitigate the loss or reduce the pain by saying BlackRock or Softbank or Sequoia also invested in FTX.
Some of Temasek’s best investments were made by being contrarian.
And Temasek can afford to be contrarian bcos it has its own balance sheet and can think long term.
With a long term stance, and all the pros and cons that come with that stance, Temasek is not fazed by the twiddles and sentiments of the market.
But FTX is not a market volatility issue, and is a reminder that good intentions are not good enough.
And we need to be clear minded about the risks with FOMO too.
Let’s keep calm, as we continue to tend to the fields and fry other fishes.”
