Temasek says Rozario to leave Fullerton Financial unit: Update

Temasek Holdings said Francis Rozario resigned as chief executive officer of Fullerton Financial Holdings, the Singapore sovereign firm’s unit which invests in banks.

Rozario, who will leave Fullerton Financial at the end of July, will be replaced by Gan Chee Yen, Temasek’s co-chief investment officer and senior managing director of special projects, said Tan Yong Meng, a Temasek spokesman. Rozario will remain as adviser to Fullerton Financial’s board, Tan said.

Two other Temasek units also face changes in leadership. Seatown Holdings Pte, its global investment company, is losing its co-heads two years after it was set up, while Temasek’s executive director and president, Hsieh Fu Hua, is helping to oversee the Singapore-owned investment company’s Fullerton Fund Management Co. as the unit seeks a CEO.

 

Fullerton Financial invests in financial institutions in emerging markets and its holdings include stakes in China Construction Bank Corp. and India’s ICICI Bank. Gan will retain his senior managing director role at Temasek, Tan said.

 

Charles Ong and Nasser Ahmad are quitting as co-chief executive officers of Seatown, funded with more than $4 billion from Temasek, two people with knowledge of the matter said this week. The succession plan is being completed, the people said.

 

INCREASING ASSETS

Ong, who is also senior managing director of special projects at Temasek, will continue in that role, said the people, asking not to be identified because they are not authorized to comment publicly before an announcement. Ahmad, co-founder of DiMaio Ahmad Capital LLC, a New York-based asset manager specializing in credit markets, will be returning to fund management, the people said.

 

Temasek said this month the value of its assets climbed 3.8% to a record $193 billion in the year to March 31, and profit more than doubled on increased contributions from its holdings. The Singapore-based company spent more in emerging markets including China, India, Brazil and Mexico, as developing nations led the global economy’s recovery from its worst recession since World War II.

 

The percentage of financial services in Temasek’s portfolio rose to 36% from 35% last fiscal year.

 

Reuters reported Rozario’s departure yesterday.