Singapore, 31 May 2019 – Temasek Trust, the philanthropic arm of Temasek, has embarked on a new pathway to sustainability with the establishment of ABC World Asia, an Asia-focused private equity fund dedicated to impact investing.
Headquartered in Singapore, ABC World Asia’s investment strategy aligns with Temasek’s ABC Framework for an Active Economy, a Beautiful Society and a Clean Earth. Impact investing encompasses the intention to generate positive, measurable social or environmental impact, alongside a compelling risk-adjusted return.
ABC World Asia will invest in companies that demonstrate commitment towards impact, primarily in South Asia, Southeast Asia and China. The fund will focus on themes including – financial and digital inclusion; better health and education; climate and water solutions; sustainable food and agriculture; and smart and liveable cities.
Cheo Hock Kuan, CEO, Temasek Trust, said, “There is scope for impact investing to help bridge the financing gap in support of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, which are at the core of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Temasek Trust seeks to play an active role in impact investments through sustainable philanthropy, beyond our usual approach of grant-making. The establishment of ABC World Asia complements this vision.”
David Heng, CEO, ABC World Asia, added, “We see compelling opportunities in impact investing across Asia. The complex social and environmental challenges in our region present the potential for investors to achieve substantial impact. With the impact investing industry still in its infancy, particularly in Asia, we are excited by the prospect of establishing impact investing as a critical lever for sustainability.”
The fund manager of ABC World Asia is supported by Temasek Trust, Temasek and Pavilion Capital.
END
About Temasek Trust
Established in 2007, Temasek Trust is an independent Trustee of philanthropic endowments and gifts. Its purpose is to ensure sustainable funding for the long term well-being and security of our communities. Our work supports our beneficiaries to uplift people, communities and capabilities, and to rebuild lives. Temasek Trust provides governance and financial oversight for its beneficiaries which include the Temasek Family of Foundations and Stewardship Asia Centre. The Trust serves to create new pathways for philanthropy and to inspire and enable giving.
About ABC World Asia
ABC World Asia Pte. Ltd. is the investment manager of the ABC World Asia fund, which seeks to deliver both compelling risk-adjusted returns and social, environmental impact.
The fund’s investments are guided by Temasek’s vision of an ABC World, comprising an Active Economy, a Beautiful Society and a Clean Earth, building on the ideals of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Mr Goh Yew Lin is Chief Executive Officer of G. K. Goh Holdings Pte Ltd, an investment company with substantial assets in aged care in Australia and Singapore, alongside venture capital and private equity. He is Chairman of Xora Innovation, a Temasek-owned venture builder, and a Director of Temasek Trust. He was Chairman of Seviora Holdings, Temasek’s asset management arm, until September 2025, and served as a non-executive Director of Temasek Holdings from 2005 to 2018.
Mr Goh is also a board member of A*STAR (the Agency for Science, Technology and Research) and Chairman of the Governing Board of Duke-NUS Medical School. He holds a degree from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.
As Chief Executive Officer of Temasek Trust Asset Management (TTAM), Mr David Heng oversees two investment platforms: ABC Impact, an Asia-focused growth impact private equity firm with over S$1 billion (US$900 million) in assets under management, and Temasek Trust Capital, a purpose-aligned investment platform managing a diversified portfolio in support of Temasek Trust’s long-term philanthropic objectives.
With over 30 years in the investment industry, Mr Heng spent 14 years in senior leadership roles at Temasek, including Head of Real Estate, Head of Japan & Korea, Joint Head of Consumer, and Joint Head of China, prior to which he was with Deutsche Bank AG. He serves as an Independent Director of Sea Limited (NYSE: SE) and is a board member of the Centre for Impact Investing and Practices (CIIP). Mr Heng is an IBF Fellow (Asset Management). He holds an MBA from the University of Hull and a Bachelor of Engineering from the University of Canterbury.
Mr Desmond Kuek is Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of Temasek Trust, the philanthropic arm of Temasek, a role he has held since January 2023. He was previously Divisional Vice Chairman, Global Wealth Management at UBS AG (2019 to 2022), where he headed Sustainable Finance for Asia Pacific, and President and Group CEO of SMRT Corporation (2012 to 2018). Earlier in his career he served nearly three decades in the Singapore public service and Singapore Armed Forces, including as Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources, Chief of Defence Force, and Chief of Army.
Ms Chan Wai Ching is Chief Corporate Officer of Temasek International and a member of its Strategy, Portfolio and Risk Committee and Senior Management Committee. She heads Temasek’s Organisation & People function and is a Director of Temasek Trust. She joined the board of Seviora Holdings, Temasek’s asset management group, in September 2025. Ms Chan joined Temasek in June 2006, following an extensive human resources career at Fullerton Financial Holdings, Citibank, Singapore Technologies, United Overseas Bank and Overseas Union Bank. She holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the National University of Singapore and completed the Advanced Management Programme at Harvard Business School in 2012.
Ms Margaret Lui is an experienced investment professional in direct investments, asset management and private equity. She was Chief Executive Officer of Azalea Investment Management, a wholly owned subsidiary of Temasek, from its founding in 2015 until her retirement on 31 March 2025; under her leadership, Azalea grew to manage around US$11 billion in assets and developed its two flagship platforms, the Astrea Private Equity Bonds and the Altrium PE Funds. She remains an Adviser to Azalea and sits on the Investment Committees of its Altrium funds.
Ms Lui spent 40 years with the Temasek group from 1985, including as Senior Managing Director and, prior to Azalea, as Chief Operating Officer of two of Temasek’s affiliate investment management companies. She also serves on the Board of Trustees of the Singapore Institute of Technology, as an independent non-executive director of Lendlease, as Chair of PSA International’s Marine Services Supervisory Committee, and as a member of the Singapore Exchange’s Listing Advisory Committee.
As Chief Executive Officer of Temasek Trust Asset Management (TTAM), Mr David Heng oversees two investment platforms: ABC Impact, an Asia-focused growth impact private equity firm with over S$1 billion (US$900 million) in assets under management, and Temasek Trust Capital, a purpose-aligned investment platform managing a diversified portfolio in support of Temasek Trust’s long-term philanthropic objectives.
With over 30 years in the investment industry, Mr Heng spent 14 years in senior leadership roles at Temasek, including Head of Real Estate, Head of Japan & Korea, Joint Head of Consumer, and Joint Head of China, prior to which he was with Deutsche Bank AG. He serves as an Independent Director of Sea Limited (NYSE: SE) and is a board member of the Centre for Impact Investing and Practices (CIIP). Mr Heng is an IBF Fellow (Asset Management). He holds an MBA from the University of Hull and a Bachelor of Engineering from the University of Canterbury.
Mr Tan Shao Ming leads a diverse team of impact-oriented investment professionals in building a portfolio that generates impact alongside compelling, market-rate risk-adjusted returns across Asia.
He brings over 20 years of institutional investing experience across a range of styles and strategies. At Temasek, he worked on acquiring controlling and minority positions in Asian banks in the aftermath of the 1997 Asian financial crisis. He later focused on special situations and structured credit at Citadel Investment Group in Hong Kong, covering China, Taiwan and Southeast Asia, and led Southeast Asian mid-market investing at Citi Private Equity.
Mr Tan is a Chartered Financial Analyst. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Chemical), First Class Honours, and a Master of Engineering (Chemical) from the National University of Singapore.
As Chief Impact Officer, Ms Sugandhi Matta leads ABC Impact’s approach to assessing, measuring and driving impact outcomes across its portfolio, and also invests for the firm across South and Southeast Asia. She brings over 20 years of investing experience in the region, having previously been Director of Investment at LeapFrog Investments, a billion-dollar impact fund focused on financial inclusion, and before that focused on Southeast Asian mid-market private equity at Actis. She began her investing career as a member of Temasek Holdings’ Financial Services team.
Ms Matta sits on the boards of several portfolio companies across India and the UK, and has also held board directorships in Thailand and Indonesia. She holds an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, and a Bachelor of Engineering from Maharaja Sayaji Rao University, Baroda.
Mr Eugene Huang was previously Managing Director, Investments at Temasek, where over a 12-year tenure based in Singapore, Beijing and Shenzhen he invested and exited over US$5 billion of capital globally across industries such as software, e-commerce, social media, education and consumer. He was most recently responsible for Temasek’s technology and consumer investments in China and head of its Shenzhen office.
Mr Huang began his career as an investment banker with Merrill Lynch & Co. (now Bank of America) in New York and Hong Kong. He graduated summa cum laude from New York University’s Stern School of Business.
Ms Charina Chan is Chief People Officer of ABC Impact, a role she holds concurrently with Chief People Officer of Temasek Foundation Ltd and Head of Organisation, Human Resources and Administration at Temasek Trust Ltd. She was previously part of Temasek International’s Organisation & People team, where she led the Non-Executive Talent portfolio, covering board governance and the management of an extended talent network for Temasek and its portfolio companies. Earlier in her career she worked at Fullerton Financial Holdings, a wholly owned subsidiary of Temasek Holdings.
Ms Chan holds an MBA from Imperial College London and a Bachelor of Science from the National University of Singapore.
Mr Koh Boon San is responsible for finance, risk, compliance and operations at ABC Impact. He brings more than 20 years of experience across fund management, finance and the corporate sector.
Before joining ABC Impact, Mr Koh headed the business management team at HSBC Securities Services, covering trustee, fund administration and custody services, and spent 10 years at Fullerton Fund Management heading various finance, risk and compliance functions. He began his career at Pricewaterhouse before joining Temasek Holdings’ finance department.
Mr Koh holds a Bachelor in Accounting (Second Class Honours, Upper Division) from Nanyang Technological University and is a member of the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants.
Mr Jeffrey Fang leads Investor Relations at ABC Impact, responsible for capital raising, investor engagement and external communications across global markets.
Earlier in his career, Mr Fang held roles across corporate development, operations and financial communications. He was Director of Strategic and Public Affairs at Temasek, managing global M&A communications, media relations, and crisis and issues management. He subsequently built a portfolio as an angel investor and venture operator, alongside his own advisory practice, before joining Temasek Trust Asset Management.
Mr Fang serves on the boards of Kim Dental, the Home Nursing Foundation, and several venture-backed companies. He holds an MA in International Relations and Affairs from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and a BA in Mass Communication from RMIT University.