Surbana Jurong's international CEO Teo Eng Cheong quits

TEMASEK-OWNED urban, infrastructure and managed services consultancy Surbana Jurong on Wednesday confirmed that its chief executive officer (international) Teo Eng Cheong has resigned after close to five years in the role.

Mr Teo, the husband of Manpower Minister Josephine Teo, decided to leave the company to pursue other interests, Surbana Jurong said in response to The Business Times' queries.

The company did not state who will replace Mr Teo after he steps down on Sept 30.

Wong Heang Fine, group chief executive officer of Surbana Jurong, said: "Since joining us in January 2016, Eng Cheong has been instrumental in driving our business interests in South-east Asia, North Asia and Singapore."

Mr Teo was involved in setting up several of the group's joint ventures and oversaw its collaboration with China's Silk Road Fund as a partner to SJ Capital, Mr Wong added.

Last April, Surbana Jurong and state-owned Silk Road Fund inked a deal to set up a US$500 million infrastructure co-investment platform that will fund infrastructure projects in South-east Asia.

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Mr Teo joined Surbana Jurong at the start of 2016, to be in charge of expanding its international footprint. The former civil servant had spent more than two decades with the government before moving to the private sector with the role at the consultancy.

Said Mr Wong on Wednesday: "As Eng Cheong embarks on a new adventure, I would like to thank him for his lasting contributions to Surbana Jurong and wish him the very best."

At the end of 2015, Mr Teo stepped down as chief executive of trade agency International Enterprise (IE) Singapore - which has since merged with Spring Singapore to form Enterprise Singapore - after serving five years in that position.

Prior to IE Singapore, he was chief executive of the Competition Commission of Singapore - now known as the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore - from 2008 to 2010, and the director-general of Singapore Customs from 2004 to 2007.

In May this year, he and Mrs Teo were accused of profiteering and corruption in relation to Surbana Jurong's involvement in converting the Singapore Expo Convention and Exhibition Centre in Changi into a Covid-19 community care facility.

Surbana Jurong refuted the allegations, stating that it had responded to a call for specialist support from its parent Temasek Holdings. Likewise, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of National Development called the allegations "false and malicious".

Mrs Teo also issued a statement via her lawyers to say that the claims were "untrue, scurrilous and completely baseless", and stressed that neither she nor Mr Teo had any involvement with the commissioning of the community care facility projects or the monetary transactions.