Keppel names Ho Tong Yen CEO Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City

Group banks on Ho's extensive experience international and diplomatic experience as he'll replace Goh Chye Boon.

Keppel Corporation is pleased to announce that Mr Ho Tong Yen has been designated as Chief Executive Officer of Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City Investment and Development Co., Ltd. (SSTEC), and will take over SSTEC’s outgoing CEO, Mr Goh Chye Boon at the end of this year.

Currently, Mr Ho Tong Yen serves as Press Secretary to Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong and Director (Special Duties) in the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts. He also holds concurrent appointments in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) as Director of the International Organisations Directorate and Director (Academic Matters) of the MFA Diplomatic Academy. Mr Ho’s career in the Singapore Foreign Service includes postings at the Permanent Mission to the UN in New York and the MFA task force during Singapore’s non-permanent membership of the UN Security Council. He has also served as Special Assistant to then Minister for Foreign Affairs, Prof S Jayakumar, as well as Singapore’s Deputy Trade Representative in Taipei.

Mr Ho will hold a concurrent appointment as Adviser on Eco-City matters in the Ministry of National Development. Mr Goh Chye Boon will complete his posting stint in Tianjin.

SSTEC is the master developer for the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City (Tianjin Eco-City). It is a 50/50 joint venture between the Singapore Consortium led by the Keppel Group and the Chinese Consortium led by Tianjin TEDA Investment Holding Co., Ltd.

During Mr Goh’s tenure as CEO, SSTEC attracted top regional developers as well as several leading international technology companies who share the vision of creating a sustainable, economically vibrant and harmonious city, to participate in the Tianjin Eco-City project. Progress on the Eco-City’s 4-sq km Start-Up Area (SUA) is well on track and SSTEC has already launched land beyond the SUA for development, according to a Keppel report.

Mr Choo Chiau Beng, CEO of Keppel Corporation, said, “The Tianjin Eco-City is an iconic bilateral project between China and Singapore to create a model of sustainable urban living. Steady progress has been made since the project first broke ground in September 2008 and Chye Boon must be credited for his contributions in laying a firm foundation for the next stage of the Eco-City’s growth.

“Tong Yen will bring with him his rich international and diplomatic experience for his role in the Tianjin Eco-City. We welcome him onboard for this landmark project.”

Mr Ho graduated from the University of London with a Bachelor of Science in Economics under the Overseas Merit Scholarship and holds a Masters in Public Management from the National University of Singapore on the MFA Postgraduate Scholarship. He also attended the Lee Kuan Yew Fellows Programme at the Kennedy School of Government in Harvard University.

Mr Ho, 40, is married with three children.