SINGAPORE - Sovereign wealth fund Temasek Holdings, which invested billions in investment bank Merrill Lynch, on Tuesday reported a record profit of 18.2 billion Singapore dollars (12.8 billion US).

The profit came over the year to March, during which Temasek invested 4.9 billion US dollars in Merrill Lynch following the financial crisis that erupted after a meltdown in the US subprime mortgage sector.

Temasek said in a statement that its profit came on the back of strong operating performance from its portfolio companies, "and healthy realised gains from its direct investment activities."