Ng Kok Song, 75, former Chief Investment Officer at the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC), was seen at the Elections Department (ELD) on Wednesday morning to collect the application form for the Certificate of Eligibility, accompanied by his 45-year-old Singaporean fiancée.
This follows his comments to local media on 15 July that he was considering a run for the presidential office, citing the national importance of the role and the consequential personal implications.
Mr Ng, who served GIC for 27 years before retiring in 2013, is presently the executive chairman of Avanda Investment Management. He co-founded the firm in 2015 along with two former GIC colleagues.
His consideration to join the race comes as the presidential election scene is already heating up.
In June, former Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam declared his bid and resigned from the Government and People’s Action Party on 7 July. Entrepreneur George Goh also expressed his intentions to contest on 12 June.
Meanwhile, current President Halimah Yacob has confirmed she will not be standing for re-election when her term concludes on September 13.
Mr Ng, who began his public service career as an investment analyst with the Finance Ministry in 1970, joined the newly formed Monetary Authority of Singapore a year later.
In 1986, he joined GIC, becoming its first non-expatriate director, and in 2007, he was appointed the group’s first chief investment officer. Mr Ng also founded the Singapore International Monetary Exchange in 1984.
However, questions remain over Mr Ng’s qualification for the presidency.
Under Article 19(4)(a) of the Constitution, he must have served as the chief executive or the most senior executive of a firm for at least three years, with the company demonstrating an average shareholders’ equity of at least S$500 million and consistent post-tax profitability.
While Mr Ng holds the title of executive chairman at Avanda, it is not clear if he is considered the most senior executive. Avanda has not met the S$500 million shareholder equity criteria. It had an average shareholder equity of around $73 million over the last three years from 2020 to 2022, despite turning a profit in each of these years.
Although Mr Ng’s service in public roles falls within the 20-year consideration window, his positions are not among those that automatically qualify him for the presidency.
The candidate may need to apply through the private or public sector deliberative track, similar to former candidate Tan See Jay in the 2011 presidential election.
Limited Singaporeans who qualify under the criteria for private sector candidate
As of 31 December 2022, of the 413 companies registered with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority with shareholders’ equity exceeding $500 million, 165 are headed by CEOs or managing directors who are Singaporean citizens.
This information was disclosed by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong in response to a question from Non-Constituency Member of Parliament, Leong Mun Wai from Progress Singapore Party.
In response to a question from Associate Professor Jamus Lim, MP for Seng Kang GRC, on why an equivalent criterion to measure successful leadership is not included for public service candidates, Education Minister Chan Chun Sing expressed that it would be inappropriate to compare or impose the same requirements on both sectors.
He suggested that while the performance of private sector candidates can be objectively assessed through financial indicators, such as profitability, measuring the performance of public sector candidates presents more challenges.
President aspirant George Goh shared his views on this matter on Facebook, noting the relatively small pool of private-sector CEOs meeting the $500 million equity threshold.
He argued that the eligibility criteria may overlook the potential capabilities of candidates who have built successful companies from the ground up, as opposed to those who were placed in already profitable entities.
The tightened criteria in recent years have made it challenging for private-sector candidates to qualify for the Presidential Elections.
This was evident in the 2017 reserved presidential election for Malays, which saw Mdm Halimah elected as President following the disqualification of two aspirants for failing to meet the shareholders’ equity criteria.
Since the inception of the elected presidency, all Presidents have emerged from the public sector who are connected to the People’s Action Party
