Last week, there were rumours that the former Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) chief, Ng Kok Song, will be running for president in the upcoming elections.
The Straits Times (ST) confirmed today (19 July) that this is indeed the case following what the 75-year-old deemed as “recent concerns about the integrity of our national institutions”.
Source: Bloomberg
But did you know that apart from decades of experience in managing the nation’s reserves, Mr Ng also practices meditation?
Here’s what you need to know about the new potential candidate.
Before joining the GIC, Mr Ng was the director of the International Department at the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
The Business Times reported that he was “one of the pioneers” of MAS, having been with the authority since its inception in 1971.
Source: CNBC
As a fresh hire, Mr Ng was an officer in the Investments Department, ST reported.
He left MAS after a 15-year career and joined the GIC soon after.
Mr Ng joined the GIC in 1986 as the director of the Equities Department.
At the time, the late Lee Kuan Yew was the chairman of the GIC, which was established just five years prior to manage Singapore’s official long-term reserves.
In his new position as the head of the GIC’s Equities Department, Mr Ng managed a global shares portfolio with a long-term investment perspective.
Source: Lee Hsien Loong on Facebook
He made a career for himself at the company, eventually retiring as the GIC’s Chief Investment Officer on 1 Feb 2013.
Prime Minister (PM) Lee Hsien Loong reportedly spoke about Mr Ng’s contributions to the GIC upon his retirement, saying,
You strengthened its professional capabilities through your deep grasp of finance and investments. You established high standards of professional excellence in your departments, and expanded GIC’s remit into new investment areas, more markets and a wider range of instruments.
Additionally, PM Lee praised Mr Ng for his “steady leadership” through crises such as the Asian Financial Crisis and the dot.com bubble.
Throughout his decades-long career, Mr Ng has received multiple awards for his achievements.
The French government awarded him the Legion of Honour in 2003.
In 2011, Mr Ng received the Order of Merit from the French government as well.
He received the Meritorious Service Medal from the Singapore Government a year later at the National Day Awards.
As a practitioner of Christian meditation, Mr Ng has also authored four books, including ‘Contemplative Leadership’ and ‘‘The Business of Spirit’.
He also reportedly taught the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew how to meditate.
Speaking to SPH Razor in 2015, Mr Ng shared that Mr Lee opened his mind to meditation when the latter’s wife was ill.
Source: WCCM Singapore on YouTube
“I shared with him out of my own experience. My wife, Patricia, she was ill for 19 months and I was her principal caregiver,” he said.
In a 2019 interview, Mr Ng shared that he started meditating “more than 30 years ago”.
At the time, he was a mid-level executive who was “climbing the corporate ladder” and discovered meditation with his late wife.
In February 2005, Mr Ng faced a blow in his personal life when his first wife passed away at 57 years old.
She had died on Valentine’s Day, a month before her birthday, and left behind three children.
Doctors diagnosed the late Mrs Ng with stomach cancer in July 2003.
Speaking to Lien Foundation, Mr Ng said:
She had lived a beautiful life and she died the same way.
According to ST, Mr Ng is currently engaged to 45-year-old Sybil Lau, a former financial analyst at Goldman Sachs who “advises large Asian family offices on philanthropy”, as her LinkedIn page states.
With years of experience managing Singapore’s wealth, it’s safe to say that Mr Ng has the chops to look after the nation’s reserves — if he were to be elected.
Mr Ng Kok Song is now the third potential presidential candidate alongside George Goh and Tharman Shanmugaratnam.
It remains to be seen if three men satisfy the eligibility criteria set out by the elections department.
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Featured image adapted from Bloomberg and GIC Insights.
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