Temasek pares stake in ICICI Bank from 8.3 to 5.9 per cent

Temasek Holdings, Singapore's sovereign wealth fund has reduced its stake in India's second-largest lender ICICI Bank from 8.3 per cent to 5.9 per cent.

In a filing last Friday with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Temasek, which manages a portfolio of over $127 billion as on 31 March 2008, current has a 5.9 per cent stake representing about 65.7 million equity shares of ICICI.

Temasek filing with the SEC comes on the same day the $300-billion Beijing-based China Investment Corp (CIC), China's sovereign wealth fund, revealed in a filing to the SEC that it owns $9.63 billion worth of stocks in US-listed companies as of 31 December 2009. (See: China reveals $9.63 billion investments in US-listed companies)

Temasek had an 8.3-per cent stake or about 92.5 million equity shares in ICICI as of end-2008.

Temasek has been gradually reducing its stake in ICICI since the past two years. It reduced its stake to 7.29 per cent in the quarter ended September from nearly 9.27 per cent in the quarter ended June and 9.91 per cent in the quarter ended March.

In June 2007, Temasek and Government of Singapore Investment Corp (GIC), had applied to raise their combined stake in ICICI Bank to almost 40 per cent, in the $4.9 billion follow-on public issue of the Indian bank. (See: Temasek, Singapore Investment apply for nearly 40-per cent stake in ICICI Bank)

But in the wake of the global financial crisis last year, Temasek has been realigning its portfolio after its portfolio value shrunk by $27.75 billion.