SINGAPORE — Temasek Holdings’ chief executive officer (CEO) Ho Ching will be appointed to the board of directors of the state investment firm's philanthropic arm Temasek Trust when she steps down from her present role on Friday (Oct 1).

Madam Ho, 68, will take over Mr S Dhanabalan, 84, as chairman of Temasek Trust from April next year.

Temasek Trust announced in a statement on Thursday that Mr Dhanabalan, a former Cabinet minister who has been chairman since 2015, will remain on the board and take on the role of chairman emeritus.

Temasek Trust was set up in 2007 to give governance and financial oversight of Temasek’s philanthropic endowments that fund the work of beneficiaries such as non-profit Temasek Foundation and Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory.

Temasek Foundation is the non-profit philanthropic arm of Temasek Holdings. Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory, set up in 2002, is a non-profit bio-molecular science research institute affiliated with the National University of Singapore and Nanyang Technological University.

Mr Dhanabalan said: “Ho Ching has a deep and passionate commitment to so many community causes, and has been instrumental in Temasek’s own stewardship journey over the past two decades.”

He added: “I am very happy to welcome her, and see it as the right time for me to begin to play more of an emeritus role, supporting Temasek Trust in a slightly different way in the future.”

Temasek Holdings announced the retirement of Mdm Ho earlier this year, more than a decade after a highly publicised failed leadership transition in 2009.

Mr Dilhan Pillay Sandrasegara, 57, will take over as CEO of Temasek Holdings on Friday.

Mdm Ho, who is the wife of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, said on Thursday that she was honoured to join Temasek Trust’s board and sees the opportunity for Temasek Trust to evolve its role given the progress it has made.

“Temasek Trust has enabled a steady and sustainable support for Temasek Foundation and other initiatives to deliver vitally important programmes in the communities in Singapore and around Asia.”

She also said that she was grateful for Mr Dhanabalan’s leadership at Temasek Trust as its second chairman, a role he took on soon after his retirement as chairman of Temasek Holdings. 

Three new directors will join Temasek Trust’s board of directors from Jan 1 next year: Mr Benny Lim, Mr Teo Ming Kian and Mr Tow Heng Tan.

Mr Lim, who is also chairman of Temasek Foundation, and Mr Teo are retired senior civil servants while Mr Tow is chief executive of Pavilion Capital International, which is wholly owned by Temasek Holdings.   

In a separate statement on Thursday, Temasek Holdings announced two new appointments to its board of directors.

• Mr Ajay Banga, executive chairman of Mastercard, will join the board on Friday

• Ms Jenny Lee, managing partner at venture capital firm GGV Capital, will be appointed on Jan 1 next year

Temasek Holdings said that the appointments are part of a transition process following the recent retirement of former director Goh Yew Lin and the forthcoming retirements of Mdm Ho and Mr Robert Ng from the board.

Chairman Lim Boon Heng said that Temasek Holdings pays special attention to renewal, both at the management and board levels.

“We will make further appointments in coming months that will continue to build the capabilities that the board has among its members.”