Noble appoints David Yeow as independent non-exec director

Singapore

NOBLE Group has appointed David Yeow as an independent non-executive director with immediate effect.

Mr Yeow is an independent non-executive director of Bund Center Investment which has been listed on the Singapore Exchange since February 2010. He is a senior partner and, since 1999, also an executive committee member of Rajah & Tann LLP.

In the past two decades, Mr Yeow was the primary external legal adviser to the Singapore International Monetary Exchange Ltd including on its de-mutualisation into the Singapore Exchange Derivatives Trading Ltd (SGX-DT); and the primary external legal adviser to the Singapore Commodity Exchange Ltd (Sicom) following its privatisation from the then Rubber Association of Singapore.

He served as a member of the advisory board, Singapore Mercantile Exchange Ltd (SMX), and was its legal adviser in its sale to ICE; and was a member of the Monetary Authority of Singapore's financial centre advisory group banking sub-committee. Mr Yeow has been on the mediation panel of the Association of Banks Singapore since 2003; and is a member of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre SGX-DT panel of arbitrators.

"We are most pleased that Mr David Yeow has agreed to join our board of directors. His depth of knowledge and experience will be of considerable help to our group, as we grow," said Richard Elman, chairman of Noble Group.

The commodities trader, which has been getting flak over its accounting practices and lack of transparency, announced just last week that it had set up an independent board committee consisting of four independent non-executive Noble board members: Paul Brough (as chairman), Irene Lee, Richard Margolis and Christopher Pratt.

The committee in turn appointed PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) to conduct an assurance review of Noble's mark to market (MTM) models, valuations and governance framework.

Noble's counter ended trading unchanged at 68.5 Singapore cents.