Parliament: Temasek holds annual review exercise on CEO succession

For CEO succession, the Temasek board reviews and tracks a list of candidates annually. PHOTO: BLOOMBERG

SIMGAPORE - Temasek Holdings' board conducts an annual review of potential candidates as part of succession planning.

Senior Minister of State for Finance and Law Indranee Rajah said this in Parliament on Friday (March 10), in response to a question by Non-Constituency Member of Parliament Leon Perera on Temasek's CEO succession plans.

Temasek Holdings' chief executive Ho Ching has been in the position since 2004. A board committee is in place to hold annual reviews and make recommendations to the board.

"For CEO succession, the Temasek board reviews and tracks a list of candidates annually. These include those from within the company as well as those from outside Temasek, both in Singapore and abroad," said Ms Rajah, who is also the MP for Tanjong Pagar GRC.

"This confidential list of candidates ranges from those who can step in immediately, to younger candidates who could be potential successors beyond the five-year period."

Mr Perera noted that Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam had mentioned in 2009 that there were candidates under review, and asked why no further progress has been made since in the search for the investment firm's next chief.

Ms Rajah said that the decision is a matter for Temasek's board. "The important thing to understand is that Temasek operates as a commercial entity... this is not something where the Government interferes with the management."

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