If approached, Singapore fund may look at Morgan Stanley
September 18th, 2008 | by admin |By Saeed Azhar
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – The Government of Singapore Investment Corp (GIC), one of the world’s biggest sovereign funds, said on Thursday it may explore an investment such as Morgan Stanley, if it is approached.
“GIC explores all opportunities when approached,” Jennifer Lewis, spokeswoman for the Singapore state fund, said in an emailed reply to a Reuters query on whether the fund is considering investing in Morgan Stanley.
GIC, which rarely comments when asked about specific firms or potential deals, said earlier this year it could invest in more banks in the United States and Europe if it gets the chance, as it looks for long-term returns.
Lewis declined to comment if Morgan Stanley had approached GIC, which already holds stakes in big Western banks Citigroup and UBS.
A Morgan Stanley spokesman in Hong Kong also declined to comment if the U.S. bank had approached GIC for investment.
GIC has been active recently along with other funds in Asia and the Middle East in buying stakes in Western banks damaged by the global credit crisis.
Traditionally, GIC, which manages the Singapore central bank’s reserves and operates like an institutional fund, only buys minority stakes in companies and avoids taking controlling stakes, unlike its smaller sister fund Temasek Holdings.
GIC says it manages well above $100 billion, but many analysts estimate the figure could be three times that. Morgan Stanley has said GIC is the world’s third-biggest state fund.