Temasek said in an annual report Thursday that the value of its investments jumped 32 percent to S$172 billion (US$122 billion) in the four months ended July 31.

The annual report was for the fiscal year ended March 31. Temasek's release of its performance since that date underscores its sensitivity to criticism in Singapore of the big losses it suffered amid the financial crisis because of investments in global banks.

"We certainly did not anticipate the speed and depth of last year's global financial crisis," Chief executive Ho Ching said at a news conference. "However, our early move to increase our net cash position has served us well."

Ho, the wife of Singapore's prime minister Lee Hsien Loong, said Temasek invested SG$9 billion from April 2008 to March 2009. That included SG$3 billion in rights issues for banks DBS and Standard Chartered, while divesting SG$16 billion from stakes in Bank of America Corp. and Barclays Plc and assets such as two Singaporean power generators.

Temasek's net profit for the last fiscal year dropped to SG$6.2 billion from SG$18.2 billion the fiscal previous as the portfolio fell from to SG$130 billion from SG$185 billion.

Ho warned there were signs that a bubble could be developing in some asset classes in Asia, which has seen a strong rebound this year in most stock markets.

"The global economy is expected to have a sluggish recovery in 2010," Ho said.Temasek said in a surprising reversal in July that Charles "Chip" Goodyear wouldn't take over as chief executive because of differences in strategy. Temasek had named Goodyear, a former chief executive of the world's No. 1 mining company BHP Billiton, to replace Ho in October.

The 51-year-old American would have been the first foreigner to head the government investment company.

Temasek invests 31 percent of its money in Singapore, 44 percent in other Asian countries, 22 percent in developed nations and 4 percent in Latin American and other developing economies.

Singapore's Ministry of Finance is Temasek's only shareholder. The company, which is smaller than the city-state's other sovereign wealth fund, the Government of Singapore Investment Corp, owns large stakes in many of the country's biggest companies, including Singapore Telecommunications, DBS and Singapore Airlines.

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