Temasek Holdings, the Singapore state investment company, said on Wednesday it would set up a S$500m (£167m, US$330m, €243m) fund to finance regional development in an apparent effort to blunt criticism from other Asian countries about its buying of strategic assets.

Temasek has faced a nationalist backlash over its ownership of telecoms operators in Thailand and Indonesia, and a senior Temasek official recently warned that similar problems may be brewing in China, where the group bought stakes in two state banks at a discount.