SingPost chairman Lim Ho Kee to step down

Singapore Post chairman Lim Ho Kee will be stepping down on May 10. PHOTO: SINGAPORE POST

SINGAPORE - Singapore Post chairman Lim Ho Kee, who has helmed the company since its 2003 initial public offering, is stepping down on May 10.

Mr Lim, who made his intent known at the end of SingPost's financial year on March 31, will step down as a director at the annual general meeting to be held in July. The company's board has unanimously agreed to appoint board member Professor Low Teck Seng as chairman from May 10.

Mr Lim, 71, said he is giving early notice to ensure a proper handing over of his responsibilities. "Some of you would be aware that I have been planning to step down now for almost three years but had felt compelled to stay and guide management," said Mr Lim in a letter to the board.

He added that family commitments are now demanding more of his time. "It has been a long and satisfying journey since our IPO in 2003, we can all be proud of what SingPost has achieved. "Among postal companies, I believe we stand out as a successful model of transformation."

The company's board thanked Mr Lim for his service and "his foresight that the postal sector was on a burning platform", adding that he impressed on everyone the urgency to transform in order to survive.

"Mr Lim is a visionary and has championed SingPost's transformation into the iconic institution it is today with its global footprint. "He has led us with not just his great intellect and business acumen, but also with his heart. It is difficult to think of SingPost without Lim Ho Kee," they said in a statement yesterday.

Mr Lim began his career in banking and has more than 35 years of experience in both the public and private sectors.

The announcement of his resignation comes as the company remains embroiled in an ongoing saga over concerns about its corporate governance standards. The saga began last December, when the company admitted an "administrative oversight" by not properly disclosing director Keith Tay's interest in a 2014 acquisition.

In response to concerns raised by shareholders and market watchers, SingPost appointed a special auditor to scrutinise the conflict-of-interest issues surrounding the acquisition. It also commissioned a separate review to address any wider governance issues. SingPost had said on Thursday that the special audit is in its final stages and the auditors are preparing their report

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