Appointment Of New Chairman For SHS And NHG

17 Apr 2009

The Minister for Health, Mr Khaw Boon Wan, has appointed Mr Peter Seah as the Chairman of the Board of Singapore Health Services Pte Ltd (SHS) and Ms Kay Kuok Oon Kwong as the Chairman of the Board of National Healthcare Group Pte Ltd (NHG) for a period of three years from 15 April 2009 to 14 April 2012.

New Chairman, Mr Peter Seah, SHS

2 Mr Peter Seah is Chairman of ST Engineering, SembCorp Industries. Well known to Singaporeans as the former CEO of OUB Pte Ltd (1991-2001), he brings with him vast corporate governance and financial services experience. He holds an advisory position at Temasek Holdings and serves on numerous boards including the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation, Bank of China, CapitaLand, and Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing.

3 As SHS’s chairman, Mr Peter Seah will chart the broad directions for SHS’s extensive and complex corporate operations and investments and ensure that SHS institutions are managed well with strong corporate governance, aligned with the goals of the Ministry of Health. Together with his board members, Mr Seah will seek to continue to deliver cost effective and affordable healthcare to Singaporeans and further advance the development of the Outram campus and its national specialty centres to achieve international excellence and innovativeness in clinical service and research.

New Chairman, Ms Kay Kuok Oon Kwong, NHG

4 Ms Kay Kuok is the Executive Chairman of Shangri-la Hotels (M) Bhd. She has vast corporate experience and holds various directorships such as in Kuok (Singapore) Ltd, and Allgreen Properties Ltd. Ms Kuok is also the President of the Singapore Hotels Association and a member of the Singapore Tourism Board.

5 As NHG’s Chairman, Ms Kuok will oversee NHG’s extensive operations in public healthcare and ensure that that NHG institutions are managed well with strong corporate governance, aligned with the goals of the Ministry of Health. A key priority will be to continue to deliver cost effective, affordable and integrated care to Singaporeans, and to grow health capabilities in the various NHG institutions to serve the evolving needs of the population.

Outgoing Chairman and Board Members

6 The Ministry wishes to express its appreciation to Mr Bernard Chen for chairing the SHS Board since April 2003 and to Mr Michael Lim for steering the NHG Board since March 2000. MOH would also like to place on record, its deep appreciation to all outgoing Board members for their contributions towards the development of Singapore's medical and healthcare services.

7 Mr Chen’s contributions have been invaluable in the development of SHS into a public sector corporate entity that delivers good and affordable care to Singaporeans.  Mr Chen played a key role in the evolution of the Outram Campus, overseeing the construction of the new SGH Pathology Building and National Heart Centre, as well as the creation of the Singapore Cord Blood Bank. Medical education and research in Singapore have also been greatly enhanced through the partnership with the Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School.

8 Mr Michael Lim has been instrumental in guiding NHG in delivering quality and cost effective healthcare to Singaporeans. Under his stewardship, NHG institutions and hospitals have also made great strides in improving patient care, furthering medical research and establishing partnerships with primary and intermediate and long term care providers. The successful introduction of teleradiology in NHG institutions was in no small measure a result of Mr Lim's personal encouragement for the use of IT to bring about speedier and cheaper medical care for patients.

MINISTRY OF HEALTH