[SINGAPORE] Former Cabinet minister Lim Boon Heng is expected to retire from his role as chairman of NTUC Enterprise Co-operative, the parent of Income Insurance, Bloomberg reported on Oct 30, citing sources familiar with the matter.
Lim’s retirement will be announced internally as soon as this week, Bloomberg’s report said.
It will come after the 77-year-old on Oct 9 stepped down as chairman of Singapore’s investment company Temasek, a role he had held since August 2013. He was succeeded by former senior minister Teo Chee Hean.
Lim has helmed NTUC Enterprise, which is the holding company for Income as well as a range of businesses from childcare to supermarkets, since July 2013.
NTUC Enterprise was most recently in the news when Allianz proposed to buy a majority stake in the local insurer, in a deal valued at S$2.2 billion. But the deal fell through five months after the German insurer made known its plans for the controlling stake.
The government called off the proposed union on concerns over the deal structure and Income’s ability to continue it social mission.
BT in your inbox
Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.
On Oct 16, 2024, Singapore Parliament passed a Bill to amend the Insurance Act so that the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) would have to consider the views of the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth when an application for regulatory approval involves an insurer that is either a cooperative or linked to one.
Income’s board and NTUC Enterprise acknowledged the withdrawal of Allianz’s offer following the amendment of the Insurance Act.
A key reason the deal was rejected by the government was Allianz’s planned capital reduction exercise which would return S$1.85 billion to shareholders within the first three years after the deal is completed – a sticking point that belated came to light.
The money was part of the surplus that would have gone to the Co-operative Societies Liquidation Account to benefit Singapore’s co-op movement had the government not give Income the exemption to carry over a surplus of S$2 billion in capital when it was corporatised in 2022.
Lim had a long association with the NTUC. He rose from the position of deputy director (1981-1983) to assistant secretary-general (1983-1987) and deputy secretary-general (1987-1991) before leaving to take up his appointment in the Ministry of Trade and Industry.
In October 1993, Lim was appointed Minister without Portfolio and Secretary-General of the NTUC, in succession to Ong Teng Cheong. He served four terms as Secretary-General, stepping down in 2006 when he was succeeded by Lim Swee Say.
He retired from politics in 2011 but retained his post as Deputy Chairman of the Singapore Labour Foundation and became Chairman of NTUC Enterprise in 2012.
NTUC Enterprise reported revenue of S$8.2 billion in 2024. THE STRAITS TIMES
