GIC and Temasek Holdings are set to lead global sovereign investors in acquisitions for a second year after emerging as the most active last year.

The US$15.7 billion (S$19.6 billion) spent by both companies accounted for about a third of direct investments by state investors globally last year, according to data compiled by the London-based Institutional Investor’s Sovereign Wealth Center.

Temasek and one of its units announced two purchases in March that amounted to US$8.9 billion, or 57 per cent what the two companies invested last year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The acquisitions may set the momentum for Temasek and GIC, amid signs of a global recovery.

… Singapore’s political stability and the size of the economy are helping GIC and Temasek to have better access to overseas markets, said Friedrich Wu, an adjunct associate professor at Nanyang Technological University.

“Being a small and harmless country, Singapore’s sovereign wealth funds are perceived to be politically neutral by host governments, and hence have the advantage of not being under intense political scrutiny,” Dr Wu said.