SINGAPORE - Popular Holdings announced on Monday (May 31) that its non-executive chairman Mr Ramayah Vangatharaman, 66, passed away on Sunday.

It is not known if Mr Ramayah suffered any illness but his wife said "he passed away peacefully."

A lawyer and arbitrator, Mr Ramayah was appointed an independent director in 2002 and became chairman in 2012.

Popular said Mr Ramayah helped the company champion the cause of providing recognition and support for local literary talents with the annual Readers' Choice Award.

"His keen business acumen also saw us through the extension of Popular's business into e-commerce," it added.

Mr Ramayah was a Fellow of the Singapore Institute of Arbitrators and sat on the panel of various arbitral institutions such as the Singapore International Arbitration Centre and the Asia-Pacific Regional Arbitration Grouping. He was also a former member of the Law Reform Committee of the Singapore Academy of Law.