Amid the speculation swirling through business circles about the reason for Goodyear's sudden departure from Temasek, the Singapore Government's sovereign wealth fund, the latest is that Goodyear suddenly found himself as the unacceptable face of Singapore business.

The former BHP chief executive was awarded the top job at Temasek and joined its board in February - the first foreign head since the investment company was formed in 1974 - and was hailed by Singapore's founder, Lee Kuan Yew, as "the best".

Although not due to take up the chief executive position until October 1, he had been prominent in the office and as recently as last week was reportedly having meetings with executives at Temasek offshoots.

This week, however, he quit his post for no apparent reason, and neither side is letting on what went wrong other than that the termination was by "mutual agreement".

Theories have been bandied about that Goodyear's management style was too autocratic - fining those who turn up late for meetings and insisting on tidiness in the office. Given the island state's novel approach to corporal punishment and civil rule, Goodyear's style would seem to be a perfect match with that of his new home.

Instead, some insiders believe that the Lee family, which has run Singapore since its independence, became alarmed that handing Goodyear control of Temasek may send the wrong message to Beijing, where it is keen to strengthen trade links.

The arrest of four Rio Tinto executives in Beijing a fortnight ago has damaged Sino-Australian relations and inflamed hostility in China towards Australian resource companies. The arrests came in the wake of fierce negotiations over iron ore prices and followed Rio's decision to spurn the state-owned Chinalco's planned $23 billion equity and joint venture tie-up with Rio - which was to have been China's biggest ever foreign investment.

As the former head of BHP, Goodyear rode the resources boom, fuelled mainly by demand from China, where higher prices were extracted each year for iron ore and coal.

There is no question mark over Goodyear's business credentials or his expertise. And Temasek, which has seen the value of its investments plummet in the past year, is certainly in need of help.

For the past six years it has been run by Ho Ching, the wife of Singapore's Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong.

Under her direction, the fund invested heavily in banking and finance stocks, all of which took a battering during the global financial meltdown.

Back in February, outside blood seemed a good idea. Maybe not so now. Perhaps the American-born Goodyear simply found himself in the right place at the wrong time.

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