Temasek picks Lim as next chairman
Appointment is seen as continuity in the state-owned firm's investment strategy
Singapore state-owned investment firm Temasek said former cabinet minister Lim Boon Heng would take over as chairman from S. Dhanabalan, who is retiring after almost 17 years.
Lim, who has been on the company's board since June last year, would take on his new role on August 1, Temasek said.
Dhanabalan is leaving Temasek after overseeing a transformation that turned a holding firm for government assets - such as an airline, phone company and shipyards - into an investor in international companies including Standard Chartered and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.
"Boon Heng shares many common traits with Dhana, including a strong moral compass and a deep dedication to public service and public good," Temasek chief executive Ho Ching said yesterday.
Lim held several cabinet positions in the Singapore government from 1993 to 2011 and was deputy chairman of the Singapore Labour Foundation, according to Temasek's website. He entered politics 33 years ago and was secretary general of the National Trades Union Congress from 1993 to 2006.
"The change doesn't signal a shift in investment strategy," said Eugene Tan, an associate professor of law at Singapore Management University. "It stands for continuity. Given that Mr Lim doesn't have an investment background, he will leave the investment decisions to the investment professionals."