Who is GIC?
GIC manages Singapore’s foreign reserves on behalf of the government. It was set up on 22 May 1981 1. It does not publish its assets under management, saying the figure would reveal the size of Singapore’s reserves 2; outside estimates range from about $936 billion to $1.16 trillion 326. It has invested in India for more than 30 years, and its Indian financial services holdings alone are worth about $20 billion 7. In Indian filings its holdings usually appear under the name “Government of Singapore” 9.
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Founded | 22 May 1981 1 |
| Role | Manages Singapore’s foreign reserves for the government 2 |
| Chief executive | Lim Chow Kiat 5 |
| 20-year real return | 3.4% a year, to March 2026 4 |
| Assets | Not disclosed; estimates $936 billion to $1.16 trillion 326 |
| India office | Mumbai, opened 2011 8 |
How GIC works
GIC’s mandate is to preserve and increase the international purchasing power of the reserves. It manages the money as a fund manager and does not own the assets 2. In the year to March 2026 its 20-year annualised real return fell to 3.4% from 3.8%; the nominal US dollar return over 20 years was 5.6% 4. Its portfolio was 56% equities, 22% fixed income and 22% real assets, with 53% in the Americas and 22% in Asia-Pacific 5. Lim Chow Kiat said GIC had focused on diversification and taken less risk 3.
Group chief investment officer Bryan Yeo 3 will work with two new deputy group CIOs, Choo Yong Cheen and Liew Tzu Mi, from October 2026 6.
India
GIC opened its Mumbai office in March 2011 as its eighth overseas office 8. In 2025 its executives said it had doubled its Indian exposure over five years, but declined to give a total 7. In September 2026 the Government of Singapore held more than 1% of 36 listed Indian companies, worth about ₹1.28 lakh crore, including HDFC Bank (2.1%), ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel, Larsen & Toubro and Divi’s Laboratories 9.
| Date | Deal |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 49% of IRB Infrastructure Trust for ₹4,400 crore 21 |
| October 2020 | ₹5,512.5 crore for 1.22% of Reliance Retail 18 |
| July 2021 | Co-led Flipkart‘s $3.6 billion round 19 |
| May 2023 | Partnership with Brookfield India REIT for two office assets, about $1.4 billion 20 |
| December 2024 | $150 million more into Asia Healthcare Holdings 16 |
| April 2025 | ₹752 crore for 35% of three SAMHI Hotels units 13 |
| June 2025 | Led a $72 million round in CRED, putting in $41 million 10 |
| June 2025 | Co-led a $200 million round in Groww 11 |
| 2025 and 2026 | Anchor investor in the Groww, Lenskart and Jio Platforms IPOs 121415 |
GIC owns 58% of renewable energy company Greenko and was reported in 2025 to be looking for buyers 22. It cut its IndiGo stake to 2.98% in March 2026 17. Bryan Yeo has said GIC is invested in various layers of India’s AI ecosystem 27. Its stake in Eternal fell from a peak of 2.02% to 1.13% by March 2025 9.
Investments outside India
In February 2026 GIC led Anthropic’s $30 billion Series G with Coatue, at a post-money valuation of $380 billion 23. It invested in Stripe’s more than $6.5 billion round in 2023 24.
Criticism
After a December 2025 Financial Times report described Singapore’s sovereign returns as poor compared with peers, MPs questioned GIC and Temasek in parliament. A government minister said the returns were reasonable given their mandates and that the focus was on long-term performance 25. GIC is also criticised for not publishing its size; it says this protects the Singapore dollar 2. Its 2007 investment in UBS lost much of its value, and GIC said the timing could have been better 1.
See also Temasek and all investors.