Singapore’s Temasek Seeks Talks With Ant on Planned Buyback

(Bloomberg) — Temasek Holdings Pte is set to hold talks with Ant Group Co. aimed at understanding why the fintech giant slashed its valuation. The discussions will decide whether the Singapore state-owned investor will take part in a planned share buyback, according to the firm’s Chief Investment Officer Rohit Sipahimalani.

Temasek bought shares in the Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.-affiliated finance company in 2018, when it was valued at $150 billion, according to an Ant prospectus in 2020. Ant’s planned repurchase of stock announced on the weekend would value the company at about 567.1 billion yuan ($78.8 billion).