Defense stocks are booming. According to one of Asia’s biggest investors, allocating capital to the sector does not mean that the ESG initiative should be abandoned. Speaking to CNBC’s Martin Song on Wednesday, Rohit Sipahimalani, chief investment officer of Singapore’s state investment fund Temasek, said his team is looking for opportunities for the European defense sector. “Defense is clearly a region where a lot of capital is used, and that’s an area where we want to see what opportunities there are,” he said. European defense stocks hit a record high on Wednesday, with the Stoxx Europe Aerospace and Defense Index jumping by around 0.8%. The index has scored nearly 54% so far this year, with some companies in the sector double in value. Temasek’s net portfolio value reached a record high of Singapore dollars ($338.9 billion) over the year ending March 31, an increase of $45 billion from the previous year. The fund says it applies an environmental, social and governance (ESG) framework to its entire investment process. Asked on Wednesday if defence investments were inconsistent with its mission, Sipahimalani said Temasek will carefully consider whether potential defence investments are consistent with broader policies. “If you look at defense, it’s now a matter of national sovereignty,” he said. “So, as we talk about sovereignty from a food security or energy security perspective, I think defense security is an important part of that. We invest in companies that comply with the UN Treaty on Nuclear Non-Proliferation and companies that comply with the. [the] It is the laws of Singapore, and generally the market they operate, and we consider each one on a case-by-case basis. ” Defense stocks have been excluded from many ESG portfolios due to ethical concerns about the company’s products being used by military customers. In today’s global context, I think it’s unreasonable that companies should not invest in defense. Because I think that in reality security and sovereignty are part of the ESG and more than anything else, it’s part of the ESG,” Shipahimalani told CNBC in an interview Wednesday.
