Temasek Cuts Raises, Bonuses Amid Coronavirus Outbreak

As the Coronavirus circulates, Temasek Holdings Pte is instituting a company-wide wage freeze and requesting that senior management accept voluntary pay reductions for as long as one year. The Singapore state-owned investment firm has had wage freezes in the past – it implemented similar moves during the 2008 financial crisis and the 2003 SARS outbreak, Bloomberg reported.

The company will stop all salary increases and promotion-related raises for a time period that will be “determined by market conditions,” per an emailed statement. Temasek will also make partial cuts to senior management annual bonuses and will request that they voluntarily lower their base salaries by as much as 5 percent.

Per the report, the investment firm said it will contribute some of the money saved to staff-volunteer initiatives and will also provide community support via measures that were not specified.

Temasek is strongly invested in China, as approximately 26 percent of its holdings were there as of last March. As a result, the news outlet said the COVID-19 outbreak has had an effect on its portfolio.

The news comes as Coronavirus effects are casting a broadening shadow on almost every industry around the world. In addition to financial markets, mortgage rates and tourism, manufacturers are also experiencing a production hit. The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday (Feb. 24) that the Dow Jones Industrial Average sank close to 1,000 points.

Meanwhile, the 10-year Treasury note yield dropped to an almost record low, the Nasdaq Composite fell 5.3 percent, the S&P 500 dipped 4 percent and the blue-chip index declined by 2.8 percent. And freefalling U.S. bond yields took mortgage rates down toward a four-year low that is forecasted to fall even more.