Singapore-based EDBI’s chief executive officer and president, Chu Swee Yeok, is leaving the venture capital firm to start a new fund, according to a statement on Monday.
Chu will be replaced by EDBI’s managing partner, Paul Ng, a longtime senior executive who has led investments in information and communications technology (ICT) globally and held leadership positions in special projects and corporate planning.
Chu will relinquish her role as CEO effective February 1, 2023, but will continue to serve as senior adviser to the chairman of EDBI.
EDBI added that the leadership change is the result of a deliberate multi-year succession plan to ensure a seamless leadership transition at the firm.
According to a Business Times report, Chu will leave EDBI to start a growth-stage fund focused on technology and healthcare. Another longtime EDBI executive, Basil Lui, is also tipped to be joining Chu’s new fund.
Chu is aiming to raise $200 million for the new vehicle and has begun discussions with government-linked entities to invest in the fund, added the report.
Chu Swee Yeok has served with Singapore’s Economic and Development Board (EDB) and its related entities for 36 years. According to EDB, she helped set up EDBI’s healthcare-related investment funds, built founding management teams, and also led Bio*One Capital as its founding chief executive to invest in biomedical and R&D manufacturing activities in the city-state.
Chu has been CEO of EDBI since 2009 and has led the team to make several notable investments in ICT, emerging technologies, and healthcare, including in Moderna, ByteDance, and Carta. EDBI’s Southeast Asian portfolio includes names such as Grab, GoTo, Advance Intelligence Group, Biofourmis, Hummingbird Bioscience, Carousell, Carro, and ShopBack.
EDBI is a government-backed entity investing in high-growth technology sectors such as ICT, emerging technology, healthcare, and SMEs in strategic industries. It focuses on growth-stage investments and has been investing globally since 1991.