SINGAPORE investment agency Temasek Holdings may have taken a hit recently on some of its high-profile banking investments, but over the longer term it has outperformed key global benchmarks.

Figures obtained by The Straits Times show that over a 10 year period to March this year, Temasek outgunned several closely-watched equity indexes.

It also beat other notable long-term investors such as Berkshire Hathaway, a top US investment company headed by billionaire Warren Buffet.

Temasek's performance has come under scrutiny in recent months after it suffered significant losses earlier this year on investments in Western banks Barclays and Bank of America (BoA).

The state investment house delivered an annualised total shareholder return by market value of 5.4 per cent from March 1999 to March 2009, according to figures obtained by The Straits Times.

This compares with a 4.5 per cent return in the same period for the MSCI Asia Pacific excluding Japan index, 3.1 per cent for the MSCI Singapore index, and -3 per cent for the MSCI World index.

MSCI indexes are key indicators commonly used by institutional investors to see how well they are doing relative to the market.

Temasek's main investments are in stocks, with the bulk of its assets in Singapore and Asia, so these indexes are regarded as a useful gauge of its performance.

Temasek's returns were also better than that of long-term investors Swedish investment firm Investor AB, which delivered 3.7 per cent, and Berkshire Hathaway, which yielded 0.7 per cent.

Read the full story in Friday's edition of The Straits Times.