Singaporean businesswoman and Spouse of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore

In this Chinese name, the family name is Ho.

Ho Ching (Chinese: 何晶; pinyin: Hé Jīng; Wade–Giles: Ho2 Ching1; Cantonese Yale: Hòh Jīng; born 27 March 1953) is a Singaporean businesswoman who has been serving as the director of Temasek Trust since 2021. She is the spouse of the third and in*bent Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong.

Ho first joined Temasek Holdings as a director in January 2002. She became its executive director in May 2002 and was appointed chief executive officer by then-prime minister Goh Chok Tong in January 2004.

As of 2020, she is listed as the 30th most powerful woman in the world by Forbes.

Contents

• 1 Early life
• 2 Career
• 3 Honours
• 4 Philanthropy
• 5 Personal life
• 6 References
• 7 External links

Early life

She was born 27 March 1953 in Singapore. Ho completed her secondary education at Crescent Girls' School. She proceeded to become one of the top students for the 'A' level examinations in her cohort at National Junior College, where she was named Student of the Year. She then went to the then-Singapore University (now the National University of Singapore) and graduated in 1976 with a Bachelor of Engineering (Electrical, First Cl* Honours). In 1982, Ho graduated with a Master of Science (Electrical Engineering) degree from Stanford University.

Career

Ho started her career as an engineer with the Ministry of Defence of Singapore in 1976. In 1983, she became the Director of Defence Materials Organisation, the procurement agency of the Ministry and also has concurrently held the position of deputy director of Defence Science Organisation.

Ho joined Singapore Technologies in 1987 as deputy director of Engineering and took on various senior responsibilities before becoming its president and chief executive officer in 1997. She is credited with repositioning and growing the group in the five years that she led it. For instance, she was the architect for the formation and listing of Singapore Technologies Engineering in 1997 and served as its first chairman.

Ho joined Temasek Holdings as a Director in January 2002 and became its executive director in May 2002.

Ho *umed the role of chief executive officer of Temasek on 1 January 2004. She is widely credited with transforming Temasek, an investment company owned by the Government of Singapore, from a Singapore-focused firm into an active investor in Asia and the world.

Ho has served as chairman of the Singapore Ins*ute of Standards and Industrial Research, and as deputy chairman of the Productivity and Standards Board, and the Economic Development Board.

Ho stepped down as CEO and executive director on 1 October 2021, being succeeded by Dilhan Pillay Sandrasegara, who will continue to concurrently hold his current appointment as chief executive of Temasek International (TI). The same day, she was appointed as a director of Temasek Trust, and will succeed Mr S. Dhanabalan in the following year as Chairman on 1 April 2022.

Honours

In 1995, Ho was conferred the National University of Singapore's Distinguished Engineering Alumnus Award. She is also an Honorary Fellow of the Ins*ution of Engineers, Singapore.

For her public service, she was conferred the Singapore Public Administration Medal (silver, 1985) and the Public Service Star (1996) award by the Singapore Government.

Ho has appeared in many rankings of the most powerful and influential people in the world. In 2007, Ho was picked as one of the "100 most influential men and women" who shaped the world by TIME Magazine. Also in 2007, Forbes magazine ranked her 3rd in its annual list of the world's most powerful women, behind German Chancellor Angela Merkel and China's Vice-Premier Wu Yi. Ho had climbed 33 spots from 36th place in the previous year's list.

In 2011, Ho was included in the '50 Most Influential' ranking by Bloomberg Markets magazine.

In 2013, Ho was ranked ninth on the Public Investor 100 ranking compiled by the Sovereign Wealth Fund Ins*ute.

In 2014, she was listed as the 59th most powerful woman in the world by Forbes. In June, Ho was also awarded the 2014 Asian Business Leaders Award. The annual Asia House award recognises individuals who embody the 'Servant Leader' – economic success and professional excellence accompanied by moral leadership and service to society. Asia House is a centre of expertise on Asia and the leading pan-Asian organisation in the UK. She became the 30th most powerful woman in 2016.

In 2019, she ranked No. 23 in the Power Women 2019 of Forbes list, while in 2020 she ranked 30th again.

On 6 May 2022, Ho was bestowed The Most Exalted Order of Sultan Ibrahim Johor (First Cl*) – Dato' Sri Mulia Sultan Ibrahim Johor (SMIJ), which carries the *le Datin Paduka.

Philanthropy

In her personal capacity, Ho Ching supports various community service and charitable organisations. She has particular interest in special needs education, healthcare and the welfare and development of children. She is the Patron of *isi Hospice, and the founding Chairman of Trailblazer Foundation Ltd, an IPC charity which provides funding for education, health, sports and community welfare. In March 2014, Ho was inducted into the Singapore Council of Women's Organisations' Singapore Women's Hall of Fame, which honours outstanding women of Singapore in all fields of endeavour.

In August 2016, Ho received positive reviews when, on a state visit to the White House to mark 50 years of bilateral relations between the US and Singapore, she carried a pouch designed by an autistic student from Pathlight School (under its Artist Development Program). Ho is an advisor to the Autism Resource Centre (ARC), a non-profit charity in charge of Pathlight School, and had acquired the pouch at an ARC fundraising event. Ho is also a patron of the Autism *ociation of Singapore.

Personal life

Ho is the eldest of four children of businessman, Ho Eng Hong (born 1926) and Chan Chiew Ping (1931-2005). She has two brothers and a sister. Her sister, Ho Peng, is the chairperson of the Singapore Examinations and *essment Board, while her brother, Ho Sing, is an executive director of Starhill Global REIT She met her husband, Lee Hsien Loong, eldest son of former Singapore Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, while starting out in her career at the Ministry of Defence together with former prime minister Goh Chok Tong. They married on 17 December 1985 and have two sons, Hongyi and Haoyi. Ho is stepmother to Lee's two children from his first marriage—daughter Xiuqi and son Yipeng.

References

External links

• The Singapore Story: Memoirs of Lee Kuan Yew
• Lee Kuan Yew | Articles Speeches and Interviews – Lee Kuan Yew 李光耀