Surbana Jurong’s international CEO Teo Eng Cheong resigns to pursue ‘other interests’

SINGAPORE — Mr Teo Eng Cheong, the chief executive officer (international) of infrastructure consultancy Surbana Jurong, has resigned his post to “pursue other interests”, the Temasek-owned firm said on Wednesday (Sept 2).

Mr Teo, a former top civil servant, is the husband of Minister for Manpower Josephine Teo. 

Mr Teo will leave the company on Sept 30. Surbana Jurong did not say who will succeed him.

In a statement to TODAY, Mr Wong Heang Fine, group chief executive officer of Surbana Jurong, said that Mr Teo had been instrumental in driving the firm’s business interests in Southeast Asia, North Asia and Singapore since he joined the company in January 2016.

“He was involved in setting up several of our joint ventures and oversaw our collaboration with China’s Silk Road Fund as a partner to SJ Capital,” said Mr Wong. 

In April last year, Surbana Jurong and Silk Road Fund, an investment fund supporting China’s Belt and Road trade and infrastructure initiative, entered an agreement to roll out a China-Singapore co-investment platform focusing on infrastructural projects primarily in Southeast Asia. 

Mr Wong added: “As Eng Cheong embarks on a new adventure, I would like to thank him for his lasting contributions to Surbana Jurong and wish him the very best.”

Mr Teo declined comment when contacted through the company. 

Before joining Surbana Jurong, he was a senior government official in the Singapore Administrative Service and held leadership positions in various government agencies.

From 2011 to 2015, he was chief executive officer of trade agency International Enterprise Singapore (which merged with enterprise agency Spring Singapore to form what is now known as Enterprise Singapore). He also headed the Competition Commission of Singapore (now the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore) from 2008 to 2010.

Mr Teo also spent two years in Suzhou, China, where he worked on the development of the China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park.

Mr and Mrs Teo made headlines in May when allegations of profiteering and corruption were levelled against them over Surbana Jurong’s involvement in setting up care facilities for Covid-19 patients at the Singapore Expo Convention and Exhibition Centre. 

Mrs Teo refuted the statements as “untrue, scurrilous and completely baseless”, and directed her lawyers to issue formal letters of demand to those who made the allegations, requiring them to be withdrawn.

On the Expo facilities, Mrs Teo said that Surbana Jurong dealt directly with the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Ministry of National Development (MND), and neither she nor Mr Teo was involved in commissioning the projects or monetary transactions.

MOH, MND and Surbana Jurong also rejected the false allegations.