News & Analysis

GIC names Chow Kiat Lim chief executive

The Singapore sovereign wealth fund has reshuffled its leadership team yet again, months after creating new senior investment positions in April.

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The Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC), the world’s eighth-largest sovereign wealth fund, has promoted deputy group president and group chief investment officer Chow Kiat Lim to chief executive, according to a statement.

Chow Kiat Lim
Chow Kiat Lim

Lim replaces outgoing group president Siong Guan Lim who is set to retire on 1 January. Lim is a long-serving executive at GIC who has been leading the sovereign wealth fund’s operations since 2007. He will continue to serve as an advisor to the GIC group executive committee.

He said in the statement: “I am happy to be able to hand over the reins of leading GIC to Chow Kiat. Chow Kiat comes with clear investment credentials to take GIC into the future and lead an organisation that is alert to new possibilities, faster in moving on opportunities, and nimble in execution.”

Chow Kiat Lim will assume his position as chief executive on 1 January.

Jeffrey Jaensubhakij, deputy group CIO and president, public markets, will take over from Chow Kiat Lim as the new group CIO.

GIC, which has been building its in-house secondaries team has advertised for a secondaries professional to join its London office, has also announced several other senior leadership changes.

Kee Chong Lim, deputy group CIO and director of integrated strategies group, has been appointed as the New York-based president of GIC’s Americas branch. Lim Hock Tay has been named deputy group CIO and the London-based president of GIC’s European arm. Tay will also be an advisor for the private equity and infrastructure divisions, and relinquish his role as president of that group. Kok Huat Goh will relinquish his role as president of real estate. He remains as GIC’s chief operating officer and will be appointed as an advisor for real estate.

The appointments comes almost seven months after the $100 billion state fund announced senior leadership changes and amid warnings of “more challenging times ahead”. GIC recorded a dip in its returns in its latest annual review, posting a 4 percent annualised real return over 20 years ending March 2016, down from 4.9 percent last year.