GIC books losses on Manhattan investment

Citing the property's debt problems, the Government of Singapore Investment Corp said losses have been booked for its Stuyvesant Town investment.

According to a Reuters report, the Singapore fund held $100 million of equity and $575 million in mezzanine debt issued by the owner of the apartment complex. The Stuyvesant Town/Peter Cooper Village complex in Manhattan has reportedly missed making a loan repayment. Not revealing how much has been written off, a GIC spokeswoman explained the losses were recognised following a New York Court of Appeals ruling last October. The court ruled that the owners, a joint venture led by BlackRock and Tishman Speyer, had wrongly tried to remove the apartments from New York City's programme.

GIC, a global investment management company established to manage Singapore's foreign reserves, had previously reported losses for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2009. The sovereign fund's portfolio shrank, with then losses reported to be at S$59 billion. Real estate comprises approximately 12 percent of the fund’s portfolio.