Ho Ching played key role in shaping Temasek: Lim Boon Heng

Temasek would not be what it is today without the courage and conviction of its outgoing chief executive Ho Ching, said chairman Lim Boon Heng yesterday.

"She took bold steps to open new pathways in finding the character of the organisation, instilled in all of us a sense of the mission and values which defines Temasek's charter today," he said.

Ms Ho is retiring from her position as CEO and executive director of Temasek Holdings, and will be succeeded by Mr Dilhan Pillay Sandrasegara, who is CEO of Temasek's corporate arm Temasek International.

Singapore's investment company Temasek was founded in 1974 and has 11 offices globally in cities such as in New York and London.

Besides its corporate arm which focuses on investments and its portfolio, it also has its Temasek Trust philanthropic arm, which supports vulnerable groups such as the elderly and people with disabilities.

Ms Ho, a former president and CEO of Singapore Technologies, joined Temasek Holdings as a board director in 2002 and became executive director the same year, before taking on the role of chief executive in 2004.

A part of Temasek's returns is channelled into the annual Budget through the Net Investment Returns Contribution. Along with sovereign wealth fund GIC and the Monetary Authority of Singapore, Temasek is tasked with investing Singapore's reserves.

Over the past year, Temasek has been actively investing in technology and life sciences, with German Covid-19 vaccine developer BioNTech among the recent additions to its portfolio.

Mr Tan Chong Meng, group chief executive of PSA International, one of Temasek's portfolio companies, said the firm has benefited from Ms Ho's leadership. PSA has evolved into a global leader in ports and logistics ecosystems with Temasek's support, he added.

"On a personal level, I have appreciated the opportunity to work with Ho Ching - learning much from her insights, integrity and hands-on approach to leadership, which has left a lasting legacy.

"I look forward to working with Dilhan, and seeing Temasek continue to grow from strength to strength in his sure hands," Mr Tan added.

Associate Professor Lawrence Loh from the National University of Singapore (NUS) said that Temasek, under Ms Ho's leadership, has contributed significantly to Singapore's revenues over the years.

"This speaks well for the good governance of its investments which have indeed grown healthily in great strides," he noted.

Prof Loh, who is also director of the Centre for Governance and Sustainability at NUS, added: "Another notable tribute to Ms Ho is Temasek's role in the sustainability arena - it has demonstrated its social responsibility well such as in providing much needs and resources to help Singapore tide over the ongoing pandemic."

Temasek was heavily involved in Covid-19 efforts, conducting reusable mask and hand sanitiser distribution drives locally and donating medical supplies to other countries through its Temasek Foundation. Several portfolio companies such as Surbana Jurong, PSA International and ST Engineering were involved in managing the community care facility at Singapore Expo.

In a LinkedIn post, politics and public affairs analyst Hasan Jafri, a former director with Temasek, wrote that over his 14 years with the company, he has seen first-hand and up close Ms Ho's focus on "building a world-class, robust and resilient institution" and efforts to make Temasek more than an investment company.

"The incredibly hard stuff that every CEO desires but many fall short of accomplishing," he added.

Incoming Temasek chief executive Dilhan Pillay Sandrasegara said the state investor's focus and biggest consideration is climate change.

"It's impacting businesses in every sector, in every part of the world, and we have to think what that means for the various geographies that we're operating in," he said at a media briefing held at Temasek's Dhoby Ghaut office yesterday.

Mr Pillay, who will continue in his current job as CEO of the commercial arm Temasek International, will succeed Ms Ho Ching in her roles as Temasek CEO and executive director on Oct 1.

Mr Pillay, who is Singaporean, joined the company in 2010 and was appointed CEO of Temasek International in 2019, where he oversees its investment and portfolio activities.

Temasek chairman Lim Boon Heng said yesterday that Mr Pillay, 57, will oversee Temasek's "stewardship role", particularly in its constitutional responsibilities to safeguard its own past reserves as a Fifth Schedule entity. Mr Lim added that Mr Pillay has shown that he can deliver the goods and rally a team to achieve the end results.

Ms Ho said she is confident that Mr Pillay will take Temasek to the next level.

She told the briefing that he has the willingness and confidence to bring in good people and give young people a chance, which will stand the company in good stead in the future.

Mr Pillay, who attended Anglo-Chinese School, was the former managing partner of law firm WongPartnership, with more than 20 years of legal experience in areas such as mergers and acquisitions and corporate governance.

He also serves on the boards of the National Research Foundation and Enterprise Singapore, and is a member of the National Jobs Council.

He holds a Master of Law from the University of Cambridge and a Bachelor of Laws from the National University of Singapore.

WongPartnership chairman and senior counsel Alvin Yeo, who worked with Mr Pillay for around two decades, said his former long-time partner has the right qualities to take on the stewardship duties that come with his new position.

"He's a person who has a serious sense of duty and responsibility, so I have no doubt that he will discharge that responsibility to the best of his abilities," Mr Yeo said.

Mr Pillay is an innovative person, he added. "He's prepared to try new things, obviously having done the due diligence first, meaning he doesn't just do it the old way just because that's the way it's been done before.

"I think that's another trait that helps him in his role to try and take Temasek to a higher level."

Mr Pillay said he is excited about Temasek's plan for the next decade - it has committed to halve its net carbon emissions attributable to its portfolio by 2030 - and believes it is the appropriate direction for the organisation.

"I think that if we do the right thing, things will turn out well for us, and by extension our stakeholders as well," he said.

He noted that Temasek is not going to be driven by how the stock market performs on a short-term basis, but focus on the long run and the long-term value proposition of firms.

"Building up our capabilities in areas like AI (artificial intelligence), blockchain, digital (digitalisation), cyber, sustainability... those are all very important things, because they go to the health of the companies that we're invested in, for long-term sustainable returns. That's how we will approach it," he added.