EDBI’s long-time chief leaving to start own fund
CHU Swee Yeok, the chief executive officer of the investment arm of the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), is leaving after nearly 14 years to raise her own fund, said people with knowledge of the matter.
The fund’s focus will potentially be on later-stage technology and healthcare, the sources added.
Chu joined EDBI in 2009 and oversaw its direct investments in early- to high-growth sectors, mature companies and funds in areas of strategic importance for Singapore. Under her watch, the organisation backed companies such as mRNA vaccine maker Moderna, TikTok owner ByteDance and South-east Asian firms Grab and GoTo.
Discussions are ongoing for government-linked investors to invest in her fund, which could be set up as soon as next year, sources told The Business Times. She aims to raise as much as US$200 million for the new vehicle, the sources said, bucking the funding winter that has crept in amid rising interest rates and a slowing economy.
EDBI managing partner Paul Ng is tipped to be Chu’s successor, the sources added. Ng is EDBI’s co-head of information and communications technology (ICT), and coordinating head for the US and Europe, said EDBI’s website.
Managing partner Basil Lui is likely to join Chu’s new firm after nearly eight years in EDBI, three sources told BT. Lui leads investments in healthcare and emerging technologies at the organisation, and has backed ventures in regenerative cell therapy, advanced manufacturing and agrifood technology.
EDBI declined to comment when queried about Chu’s impending departure.
EDBI was set up as a risk-sharing capital vehicle in 1991 to attract manufacturing investments into Singapore. Over the years, it has helped drive the growth of the key sectors of electronics, chemicals and biomedical sciences; more recently, it has focused on innovative and emerging technologies.
More than 200 investments have been made over the past decade, of which over 45 have become unicorns in the ICT, healthcare and emerging technology sectors, Chu said in a 30th anniversary e-book published in December 2021.
Before joining EDBI, Chu was the founding chief executive of Bio*One Capital, EDB’s US$1 billion global fund dedicated to catalysing biomedical activities in Singapore. She worked closely with Philip Yeo, a former top civil servant and champion of biomedical research and development in Singapore.
Prior to her investing career, Chu held senior positions at the EDB and the Agency for Science, Technology & Research (A*Star), according to EDBI’s website.
