SINGAPORE – Economic Development Board (EDB) chairman Beh Swan Gin will move into a new role as permanent secretary for development at the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) from May 1.
Current MTI permanent secretary Gabriel Lim will be redesignated as the ministry’s permanent secretary for policy.
Dr Beh will be replaced at the EDB by Mr Png Cheong Boon, who will relinquish his position as chief executive of Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG).
Taking over from Mr Png will be Mr Lee Chuan Teck, currently the permanent secretary for development at MTI.
Announcing the shuffle in a statement on Monday, the Public Service Division (PSD) said all appointments will take effect on May 1.
Dr Beh, 55, a medical doctor by training, started his career at the EDB in 1992 and has overseen its biomedical sciences portfolio and EDB’s North American operations.
He has also served in MTI and the Agency for Science, Technology and Research, where he was the executive director of the Biomedical Research Council.
He was appointed managing director of EDB in 2008, before his appointment as permanent secretary for the Ministry of Law from 2012 to 2014. He has served as chairman of EDB since 2014.
Mr Lim, 47, has held appointments in the Ministry of Defence, PSD, Civil Service College and Ministry of Health, and was appointed the principal private secretary to the prime minister in 2011.
He was then appointed chief executive of the then Media Development Authority in 2014, before becoming the second permanent secretary of the Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI), and then chief executive of the Infocomm Media Development Authority in 2016.
He was appointed permanent secretary of MCI in 2017 before taking on his current role at MTI in 2019.
Mr Png, 53, joined the EDB in 1993. He headed Spring Singapore from 2008 to 2013 and JTC Corporation from 2013, before being appointed second permanent secretary of MTI in 2017 and EnterpriseSG’s chief executive in 2018.
Mr Lee, 55, joined the Monetary Authority of Singapore in 1992. In June 2018, he was appointed second permanent secretary of MTI and later redesignated as the ministry’s permanent secretary for development in April 2019.
PSD also announced the redesignation of three other permanent secretaries.
Ms Teoh Zsin Woon, 49, concurrently second permanent secretary of the Ministry of National Development (MND) and PSD, will be redesignated as permanent secretary for development at both MND and PSD.
Similarly, Ms Lim Wan Yong, 46, second permanent secretary of the Ministry of Education (MOE) and second permanent secretary of the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF), will be redesignated as permanent secretary for education development at MOE and permanent secretary for development at MSF.
Finally, Mr Chng Kai Fong, 44, who is concurrently second permanent secretary of the Smart Nation and Digital Government Group (SNDGG) and of MCI, and second permanent secretary for cyber security at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), will be redesignated as permanent secretary for development at SNDGG, MCI and PMO, as well as permanent secretary for cyber security at PMO.