Olam appoints Temasek-linked directors

Singapore

OLAM International on Friday said that it has appointed Kwa Chong Seng, chairman of Neptune Orient Lines, as deputy chairman and independent director of the board. It has also appointed Nihal Vijaya Devadas Kaviratne as an independent director. The appointments take effect on Oct 1.

Both men have had experience on Temasek-linked boards.

Mr Kwa is also chairman of Singapore Technologies Engineering Ltd and Fullerton Fund Management, as well as non-executive director of Singapore Exchange and Temasek Holdings' Seatown Holdings.

He is also deputy chairman of the Public Service Commission in Singapore.

Mr Kaviratne, who spent 40 years at Unilever Group before retiring in 2005, is an independent director of GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals Ltd, StarHub Limited, SATS Limited and DBS Group Holdings.

This is part of Olam's on-going renewal of the board. Independent directors Mark Haynes Daniell and Wong Heng Tew will step down on Oct 30. Both have served on the Olam board for over a decade.

Temasek has become Olam's largest shareholder, after it launched a cash offer for all Olam shares that it did not already own. The offer, at S$2.23 a share, valued the company at S$5.33 billion, and came after a high-profile assault on the agri-commodities trader by shortseller Muddy Waters in late 2012.