GIC appoints Lim Chow Kiat as CIO

Lim joined GIC in 1993 and became head of the fixed income, currency and commodities department, as well as deputy president of GIC Asset Management (GAM), in 2008. Between 2009 and 2011, he was based in London, overseeing GIC's operations in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. He was promoted to president of GAM in 2011 and rose to deputy group CIO one year later.

Ng will serve as an advisor to GIC as chair of global investments, sit on the fund's international advisory board, and continue as a director on the boards of GAM, GIC Real Estate and GIC Special Investments.

Ng's role in managing Singapore's foreign exchange reserves predates the creation of GIC itself. He started as an investment analyst at the Ministry of Finance in 1970, moved to the Monetary Authority of Singapore when it was set up in 1971, and joined GIC as its first non-expatriate director in 1986. He became the fund's first group CIO in 2007.

Lee Hsien Loong, Singapore's prime minister and chairman of GIC, praised Ng for strengthening the sovereign wealth fund's professional capabilities, establishing high standards in the departments in which he worked, and expanding its remit into new markets and investment areas.

"You provided steady leadership during successful financial booms and crises, including the October 1987 Black Monday crash, the Asian financial crisis, the dotcom bubble and the recent global financial crisis," Lee added. "Your composure and experience steadied GIC officers and helped the portfolio to weather the financial storms."

GIC's exposure to alternative assets remained unchanged during the year ended March 2012 as cash reserves rose steeply at the expense of fixed income and developed market public equities holdings.

The sovereign wealth fund, which is said to have more than $300 billion under management, contrary to official claims of $100 billion, almost quadrupled the cash component of its portfolio to 11% from 3% a year earlier. Public equities exposure fell from 49% to 45%, with developed markets accounting for the entire retraction, while the allocation to nominal bonds was at 15%, compared to 20% in 2010-2011.

Private equity and infrastructure exposure rose by one percentage point to 11%, having remained consistent for the previous two years. Allocations to real estate, hedge funds and natural resources were unchanged, putting the alternatives share of GIC's portfolio at 27%.

GIC's annual returns on investment for the 20 years to March 2012 - once global inflation is factored in - came to 3.9%, the same as the previous year.

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