EDBI’s Chu Swee Yeok leaving in Feb to start fund; Paul Ng to succeed as CEO
EDBI, the investment arm of Singapore’s Economic Development Board (EDB), said its chief executive officer and president Chu Swee Yeok will step down on Feb 1, after 14 years in the role.
Chu will establish a new fund management entity, EDBI said on Monday (Nov 28), confirming an earlier report from The Business Times (BT).
Managing partner Paul Ng will succeed her.
Chu is aiming to raise as much as US$200 million for her new fund, which will potentially focus on later-stage technology and healthcare, sources said.
She is in discussions with government-linked investors for the new venture, they added.
EDBI said that Chu, who has served EDB and its associated entities for 36 years, will continue to be senior adviser to the chairman of the investment arm and help guide its growth.
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“This change is the result of a deliberate multi-year succession plan to ensure a seamless leadership transition at EDBI,” the company said.
EDBI’s managing partner Basil Lui has been tipped to join Chu’s new venture, sources told BT.
Lui leads investments in healthcare and emerging technologies at the organisation.
In a separate statement on Monday, Singapore-listed Yangzijiang Financial said it has appointed former EDBI managing partner Alvin Chew as the group’s head of direct investments for global markets outside of China.
Chew was head of the strategic growth programme and coordinating head for China at EDBI. He left the organisation in September, according to his LinkedIn.
EDBI has made over 200 investments in the past decade. Chu joined as CEO in 2009 and oversaw direct deals in early- to high-growth sectors, mature companies, and funds in areas of strategic importance to Singapore.
Under her watch, EDBI backed companies including mRNA vaccine maker Moderna, TikTok owner ByteDance, and South-east Asian firms Grab and GoTo.
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