Council for Estate Agencies names new executive director

THE industry watchdog for real estate agents has a new executive director.

The previous executive director of the Council for Estate Agencies (CEA), Chionh Chye Khye, 64, retired on Thursday after 41 years in the public service, the Ministry of National Development (MND) said in a press release on Friday.

Mr Chionh was succeeded with effect from Oct 22 by Lee Kwong Weng, 58, who had been CEA's deputy executive director since Jan 1, 2015. Before that, Mr Lee was deputy chief executive officer for the corporate and technology group at the Agri-food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore.

The handover occurred five years after the CEA was formed as an MND statutory board on Oct 22, 2010.

Mr Chionh helmed CEA from the start and oversaw the implementation of a regulatory framework to raise property agents' professional standards. He also set up a new licensing regime for property agents, mandatory registration of real estate salesmen and a system for managing complaints.