* Stake currently valued at $496 mln
* Asian sovereign funds have bought into resource-linked assets
* GIC gradually built up the stake - source
By Saeed Azhar
SINGAPORE, Feb 24 (Reuters) - The Government of Singapore Investment Corp, one of the world's biggest sovereign wealth funds, has bought a 5 percent stake in commodities trader Bunge Ltd valued at $496 million, in a sign that Asian state funds are raising their bets on resources.
Sovereign funds, hurt by investments in Western banks during the 2008 financial crisis, have been moving away from financial services into new sectors such as commodities and infrastructure.
In recent years, China Investment Corp (CIC) and Korea Investment Corp have both bought shares in Asia's biggest commodities supplier, Noble Group, while Singapore's Temasek Holdings bought a stake in Olam International .
GIC said in a filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission, dated Feb 23, it had bought 7,305,865 shares of the New York-listed agricultural trading firm, valuing its stake at $496 million.
It did not say what price it paid for the stake.
A source with knowledge of the matter told Reuters the stake purchase was done over a period of time. The source did not disclose when GIC first bought the stake.
GIC also owns a stake in commodities trader Glencore through convertible bonds and shares. Natural resources accounts for 3 percent of GIC's estimated $250 billion portfolio.
"They are bullish on the agricultural space," said a trading manager with an international trading company in Singapore, who requested anonymity because he was not authorised to talk officially to the media.
"Investors are looking at cheap money supply over the next two to three years. There will be more supply of money to support the growth which will keep inflation at higher levels and, in turn, support commodity prices."
CHALLENGING OUTLOOK?
But the outlook from the commodity industry remains cautious after a recent bull run
On Wednesday, Goldman Sachs said it was lowering its 12-month commodity returns forecast to 12 percent from 15 percent, saying that commodities had rallied substantially heading into 2012.
"It has been challenging of late. Commodity prices have been a bit volatile," said Lee Wen Ching, an analyst at CIMB in Singapore.
She said performance of these commodity suppliers also depend on the product line, citing the case of Olam which trades mostly agricultural commodities and has performed better than Noble.
Earlier this month Bunge reported a higher-than-expected fourth-quarter profit, benefiting from higher prices and volumes in sugar cane milling and better results in oilseed processing in Asia, Europe and South America.
The performance was better than rivals Archer Daniels Midland Co and Cargill, which reported weaker-than-expected results due to volatile markets and economic uncertainty.
GIC is ranked the world's eighth-biggest sovereign wealth fund by the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute, a U.S.-based research organisation.
GIC owns 6.45 percent of UBS AG and 3.86 percent of Citigroup Ltd, despite cutting its holdings of shares in developed markets to 34 percent of its portfolio from 41 percent in the fiscal year to the end of March, its annual report shows.
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