Government of Singapore Investment Corp., the biggest investor in Citigroup Inc. and UBS AG, plans to hold on to its stakes in the banks for “many years” and will only consider selling if there are attractive offers.

“We look to continue to hold on to our stakes in UBS and Citigroup for many years to come,” Tony Tan, deputy chairman of the Singapore sovereign wealth fund, said in a Jan. 29 interview at Davos, Switzerland, where he attended the World Economic Forum meeting. ‘But one never says never; if someone offers an extremely high price, of course we’ll look at the possibility.”

 

GIC bought stakes in New York-based Citigroup and UBS, Switzerland’s biggest bank, three years ago as the collapse in the U.S. subprime-mortgage market in 2007 froze credit markets and led to almost US$2 trillion ($2.57 trillion) in losses and writedowns at financial institutions. Temasek Holdings, Singapore’s state- owned investment firm, sold its holdings in Bank of America Corp. and Barclays Plc at losses following the financial crisis.

 

GIC said in September “the worst is over” for the banks, prompting a longer-term view for its investment in the these assets. Citigroup and UBS have returned to profitability, they have strong capital ratios and will do well amid the changing regulatory environment, according to the sovereign fund, which manages more than US$100 billion of Singapore’s reserves.

 

Paulson & Co., the US$35.9 billion hedge fund run by John Paulson, told clients this month that it made more than $1 billion on its Citigroup investment in the past 18 months. Citigroup, which surged 43% in 2010, was the fund’s most profitable bank holding last year, Paulson said in a letter.