(Reuters)
Updated: 2007-12-05 10:48

Singapore's Temasek Holdings is ploughing US$1 billion into a new China-focused private-equity fund set up by Goldman Sachs' China partner Fang Fenglei, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.

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Fang, chairman of Goldman's Chinese securities joint venture, will set up a US$2 billion private-equity fund anchored by the Singapore sovereign wealth fund, the newspaper cited sources as saying.

Temasek's contribution will be staggered over a few years, the paper said, adding the new fund would be geared towards buying stakes in State-owned Chinese companies.

Temasek, which has a global portfolio of over US$100 billion, has in recent weeks offloaded some shares in Bank of China, China Construction Bank and shipper COSCO .

Analysts has said then that the moves - expected to net the firm around US$1.1 billion - suggested that Temasek was calling the top of the China stock boom and scouting for cheaper targets in the West.