Among the Singapore-based entities, officers, intermediaries and addresses released by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalism (ICIJ) is the address of GIC.
This is the screengrab of GIC’s address from their website.
GIC Private Limited (formerly known as Government of Singapore Investment Corporation) is a sovereign wealth fund established in 1981 by the Government of Singapore, and is fully owned by the Republic’s Government.
GIC pointed out on 12 May that it is not named in the Panama Papers and that its address can be found in ICIJ’s database because of a previous investment it had made. The records containing its name come from records released in an older data leak, GIC said.
A GIC spokesman clarified: “We invested in and were one of the shareholders of Hon Chuan (China) Holdings Co Ltd, a Cayman subsidiary of Taiwan Hon Chuan Enterprises Co Ltd, whose business is manufacturing plastic packaging materials. Taiwan Hon Chuan Enterprises Co Ltd is a listed company on the Taiwan Stock Exchange. We have fully divested our stake as of Aug 8, 2007.”
The spokesman added that GIC uses investment entities to hold and manage a diversified investment portfolio spanning multiple countries globally and to allow it to invest alongside other partners effectively in different jurisdictions.
“As a global long-term investor, we are committed to professional standards. We conduct our business and investment strategy in compliance with local and international laws and regulations,” he further clarified.
ICIJ said that it was releasing the new details in “public interest”, in an effort to “find out who’s behind almost 320,000 offshore companies and trusts from the Panama Papers and the offshore leaks investigations.”
Ministry of Finance and Monetary Authority of Singapore’s spokesmen commenting on the new Panama Papers leak implicating Singapore based entities and people said: “We are reviewing the batch of information that was released this morning on the persons and entities identified in the Panama Papers. If there is evidence of wrong-doing by any individual or entity in Singapore, we will not hesitate to take firm supervisory and enforcement action.”
GIC claims its address is found in Panama Papers because of a previous investment it had made
ByThe Independent
May 13, 2016