Temasek weighs US$2bil Pavilion Energy asset sale

Singapore: Singapore’s Temasek Holdings Pte is considering selling some of Pavilion Energy Pte’s assets and seeking a valuation of at least US$2bil, according to sources.

The city-state’s investment firm is working with Barclays Plc on a potential sale that would exclude the gas pipeline business, which Singapore considers a strategic asset, said the sources.

Temasek has started gauging interest from potential buyers for the assets of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) company.

Considerations are at an early stage and Temasek could still decide to keep the assets for longer.

Representatives for Barclays, Pavilion Energy and Temasek declined to comment.

A disposal of the Pavilion Energy assets could come after Temasek posted its worst annual return in seven years and warned of an uncertain road ahead.

Investment returns from the firm, as well as GIC Pte and the Monetary Authority of Singapore, are among the biggest contributors to the national budget, which is in deficit as the cost of providing services rises.

Temasek is the world’s ninth largest state investment firm with about US$492bil in total assets, according to SWF Institute data.

Singaporean assets represented the largest share of its portfolio for the second year in a row and now stand at 28%, up from the 27% recorded last year.

While the firm has remained bullish on China for several years, holdings in the country remained unchanged at 22% of its portfolio.

Pavilion Energy is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Temasek that trades and ships LNG in Asia and Europe, according to its website. Founded in 2013, the firm bought a 20% interest in Tanzania gas blocks for about US$1.3bil.

Three years later, Singapore appointed the company as one of the two LNG importers for the country. The firm now accounts for a third of the city-state’s industrial gas supply. In Spain, it imports around 10% of the country’s LNG. — Bloomberg