Appointment of Board Members for Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore
APPOINTMENT OF BOARD MEMBERS FOR MARITIME AND PORT AUTHORITY OF SINGAPORE
1.The Minister for Transport, Mr Raymond Lim, has appointed the following persons to the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) Board for a period of three years, with effect from 2 February 09:
Chairman
Mr Lucien Wong
Managing Partner
Allen & Gledhill LLP
Members
Mr Bahren Shaari
Managing Director
ING Asia Private Bank Limited
Dato' Jude Benny
Managing Partner
Joseph Tan Jude Benny
*RADM Chew Men Leong
Chief of Navy
Republic of Singapore Navy
*Mr Kenichi Kuroya
Managing Director
'K' Line Pte Ltd
Mr Andreas Sohmen-Pao
Managing Director
BW Shipping Managers Pte Ltd
BG (NS) Tay Lim Heng
Chief Executive
Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore
*Mr Thomas Tay
General Secretary
Singapore Maritime Officers' Union
Mr Teo Siong Seng
President
Singapore Shipping Association
*Mr James Wong
Senior Director (Planning and People)
Ministry Of Health
*Mr Wong Weng Sun
President / COO
Sembcorp Marine Ltd
*Dr Robert Yap
Chairman & CEO
YCH Group
*Newly appointed member
Outgoing Chairman, Mr Peter Ong
2.Mr Peter Ong1has served as Chairman of MPA since February 03, and will complete his term of office on 1 February 09.Mr Ong is also the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Trade and Industry, a post he has held since 15 March 05, and assumed the additional appointment of Second Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance on 1 October 08.
3.As MPA Chairman, Mr Ong charted the broad directions that strengthened Singapore's development as a premier global hub port and an International Maritime Centre, and to advance Singapore's strategic maritime interests.
4.Under his chairmanship, Singapore's maritime cluster grew significantly.The number of international shipowners and operators based in Singapore has more than doubled to over 100 companies since 2003.This in turn has generated an increase in the demand of maritime services, with many firms setting operations in the areas of shipping finance, marine and P&I insurance, maritime legal services and ship broking. The value add of the maritime cluster has grown to about 7 percent of Singapore's GDP, and employs over 100,000 people.
5.The Singapore port also performed well.The tonnage of ships calling at the port has grown from 0.98 billion GT in 2003 to 1.62 billion GT in 2008.The number of containers handled at the port also increased from 18.4 million TEUs to 29.9 million TEUs in the same period.This enabled Singapore to remain as the world's busiest port, and as a premier container transshipment hub.Singapore also retained its position as the world's top bunkering port.At the same time, the Singapore ship registry remained among the top 10 registries in the world, and the top registry in Asia.
6.Several major projects and initiatives were launched during Mr Ong's term of office.One significant milestone was the designation of MPA in 2003 as the champion agency to develop Singapore as an International Maritime Centre.Much has been achieved to attract a core of international shipowners and operators, and to develop the ancillary maritime services sector to complement our world class hub port.Mr Ong was also behind the Singapore Maritime Week initiative - an annual cluster of conferences, seminars and networking events to showcase the dynamism and diversity of the Singapore maritime cluster, and to establish Singapore as a choice venue for major international maritime events.
7.Singapore became the first port in the world to provide wireless broadband access to vessels within port waters when the WISEPORT project was launched in 2008. On the international front, the launch of the Co-operative Mechanism in 2007 was a landmark development that provided a framework for the littoral states of Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore, the IMO and user States to enhance navigational safety and environmental protection in the Malacca and Singapore Straits.
8.Over the past two years, MPA has been ranked top among the public agencies in the Pro-Enterprise Ranking Survey, recognising MPA as the most pro-business government agency.
Other Outgoing Board Members
9.Aside from Mr Ong, four other MPA Board Members will be stepping down on 1 February 09.They are:
Mr Choo Chiau Beng
Chief Executive Officer
Keppel Corporation Ltd
Mr Leow Ching Chuan
General Secretary
Singapore Organisation of Seamen
Mr John Lu
Chairman
Singapore National Shippers' Council
Mr Ronald D. Widdows
Group President & CEO
Neptune Orient Lines Limited
10.The Government wishes to place on record its deep appreciation to Mr Peter Ong and the outgoing Board Members for their contributions towards the development of Singapore's maritime cluster.
New Chairman, Mr Lucien Wong
11.The newly appointed Chairman of MPA is Mr Lucien Wong, who is the Managing Partner of Allen & Gledhill LLP. Mr Wong has more than 30 years experience in the practice of law, specialising in banking, corporate and financial services work.Over the years, he has accumulated a wealth of experience sitting on the boards of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, Cerebos Pacific Limited, Hap Seng Plantations Holding Berhad, and Singapore Airlines Ltd.He is also a member of the Board of Trustees for SingHealth Foundation and the National University of Singapore.He has been a board member of the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore since November 07, and was appointed its Deputy Chairman in September last year.
Issued by:Ministry of Transport
Date:30 January 2009