Massive fund helping to make Singapore a research powerhouse

Forward thinking: Customers browsing the shelves of a food store in Singapore. The island nation is investing heavily in life science and agriculture research and development, all the while working towards trying to reduce import dependencies. — Bloomberg

SINGAPORE: Temasek Holdings chief executive officer (CEO) Dilhan Pillay (pic) runs a US$290bil (RM1.29 trillion) state-owned investment empire. But every quarter he spends up to two hours chatting to a man in Indonesia about fish.

Those lengthy calls with Bandung-based eFishery, a startup so small it only accounts for 0.01% of Temasek’s portfolio, are emblematic of its quiet zeal for the business of food.