Singapore sovereign wealth funds eye investments in Portugal
Portugal’s Minister of the Economy, Pedro Reis has been in Singapore where he held round-table talks with sovereign funds.
The funds are interested in stepping up production in semiconductors, looking at opportunities in eolic offshore wind farms and the health sector, as well as the Sines Containers Terminal.
According to the business daily Negócios, the Minister of the Economy held meetings with sovereign funds GIC, which has a 4% capital share in EDP Renováveis and Temazek, which owns PSA that operates the Sines Container Terminal.
The three day trip, which ended on Friday, was similar to a recent trip to Qatar from the perspective of attracting investment and flagging up Portuguese companies that are taking important steps in internationalisation.
According to the minister, the two sovereign wealth funds “showed interest in four areas”, one of which is related to the production of electronic components in the country. “There have already been companies in Portugal with experience in the area of semiconductors and these investors know this experience,” said the minister, stressing that from the point of view of Singapore “there is an interest in demultiplying production”, which is very concentrated on that island and Taiwan, “considering that Portugal could be a good manufacturing base.”
In the past, Portugal had a Texas Instruments factory installed in Portugal, which eventually closed, in addition to Qimonda Portugal, which eventually went bankrupt. The American giant Amkor Technology eventually acquired Qimonda from Vila do Conde, earning about €55 million and employing 800 people.
According to Pedro Reis, the funds also wanted to “understand how we are preparing to explore offshore wind”. In the field of energy, the president paid a visit to the solar park developed by EDP Renováveis in Singapore.