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SINGAPORE'S state-linked investment firm Temasek Holdings said on Tuesday it had sold 1.08 billion shares in Bank of China.
Temasek said it had made the sale in order to rebalance its portfolio.
'We review our portfolio from time to time and may rebalance it against new opportunities,' said Yap Chwee Mein, Temasek's managing director of investment, in a statement.
'As part of our active portfolio management, we have successfully placed out a tranche of 1.08 billion BOC shares which we had subscribed to at the time of the bank's IPO,' she said.
'We remain optimistic on China's long-term potential.' Prior to the sale, Temasek had 11.792 billion H-shares, or about 15.5 per cent of the bank's 76 billion issued Hong Kong shares, according to the Hong Kong exchange's website.
The firm said it had reduced its overall holdings in Bank of China shares from 4.6 per cent to 4.13 per cent.
Goldman Sachs yesterday cut its rating on Bank of China, China's second-biggest bank by assets, to 'neutral' from 'buy' because of its exposure to subprime mortgage assets.
Temasek manages a diversified global portfolio of more than US$100 billion (S$145), focused primarily in Asia. -- AFP
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