GIC, Temasek deny allegations of pressuring MSCI to downgrade Indonesia
SINGAPORE - Singapore sovereign wealth funds GIC and Temasek have rejected allegations that they or their staff pressured index provider MSCI to consider downgrading Indonesia's stock market classification.The denials follow accusations on Oct 20 by former Indonesian trade minister Muhammad Lutfi that the two investors coerced MSCI to consider downgrading Indonesia.The former minister claimed that a downgrade could trigger market panic and create opportunities to acquire Indonesian equities at lower prices.A GIC spokesperson told The Straits Times: "Our investment decisions are not driven by index classifications or top-down views of a market and instead by company- and asset-level fundamentals."We have been invested in Indonesia for over 30 years across asset classes and will continue to invest where we find good, bottom-up, risk-adjusted opportunities."Fock Wai Hoong, head of Asia Pacific excluding China and India at Temasek Global Investments, said the allegations have "no basis and are patently untrue".