Ho Ching

Singaporean businesswoman and former CEO of Temasek Holdings Template:Use Singapore English

Ho Ching

何晶
File:Ho-ching.jpg Ho in 2025
Chairman of Temasek Trust
Incumbent
Assumed office	1 April 2022
Chief Executive Officer of Temasek Holdings
In office	1 January 2004 – 1 October 2021
Personal details
Party	Independent
Born	27 March 1954 (age 72)
Spouse	Lee Hsien Loong (m. 1985)
Alma mater	University of Singapore (BEng) Stanford University (MS)

Ho Ching (Template:Zh; born 27 March 1954) is a Singaporean businesswoman and technology executive who has served as the chairman of Temasek Trust since 2022. She was the executive director and chief executive officer (CEO) of Temasek Holdings from 2004 to 2021, where she oversaw its transformation from a Singapore-centric state investment company into a global investment firm, with the portfolio growing from approximately S$90 billion to over S$313 billion during her tenure. She has frequently been ranked among the world's most powerful women by Forbes and Time.

She is married to Lee Hsien Loong, the third Prime Minister of Singapore and current Senior Minister.

Early life and education

Ho was born in Singapore on 27 March 1954, the eldest of four children of businessman Ho Eng Hong (born 1929) and Chan Chiew Ping (1931–2005). She has two brothers and a sister. She attended Crescent Girls' School and National Junior College, where she was named Student of the Year and ranked among the top students in her A-Level cohort.

She graduated from the University of Singapore (now the National University of Singapore) in 1976 with a Bachelor of Engineering (Electrical) with First Class Honours, and completed a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering at Stanford University in 1982.

Career

Ministry of Defence (1976–1987)

Ho began her career as an engineer with the Ministry of Defence in 1976. In 1983 she became Director of the Defence Materiel Organisation, the ministry's procurement agency, and concurrently served as deputy director of the Defence Science Organisation.

Singapore Technologies (1987–2001)

Ho joined Singapore Technologies in 1987 as deputy director of engineering, holding various senior positions before becoming its president and CEO in 1997. She was the architect behind the consolidation and 1997 listing of ST Engineering as the largest listed defence engineering company in Asia, serving as its founding chairman. She also served as chairperson of the Singapore Institute of Standards and Industrial Research, and as deputy chairperson of the Productivity and Standards Board and the Economic Development Board. She left the group in 2001.

Temasek Holdings (2002–2021)

Ho joined Temasek Holdings as a director in January 2002 and became its executive director in May 2002. Her appointment drew public scrutiny over potential conflicts of interest given her marriage to Lee Hsien Loong, then Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister; then-chairman S. Dhanabalan defended the appointment as made on merit.

She was appointed CEO by then-Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong on 1 January 2004. During her 17-year tenure she shifted Temasek's focus toward emerging Asian markets, telecommunications, technology and financial services, growing the portfolio from approximately S$90 billion to over S$313 billion. She stepped down as CEO and executive director on 1 October 2021, succeeded by Dilhan Pillay Sandrasegara.

Temasek Trust (2021–present)

On 1 October 2021 Ho was appointed a director of Temasek Trust, the entity managing Temasek's philanthropic endowments. On 1 April 2022 she succeeded S. Dhanabalan as its chairman. In January 2022 she also joined the Swedish private equity firm EQT as an advisor to its EQT Future fund.

Social media activity

Ho is an active social media user and regularly shares her views on Facebook. News reports indicate she posted an average of about 4,800 times per month over 2019–2020 and roughly 1,830 posts on average annually from 2015 to 2020, with more than 101,000 followers by 2020; on some days she made more than 200 posts. She has at times re-shared posts by members of the Cabinet in quick succession.

Several of her posts have attracted media attention and controversy. On 11 April 2020 she shared an article about Taiwan's donation of masks to Singapore with the one-word caption "Errr", posted shortly after reports that a Taipei export ban had prevented ST Engineering from shipping Taiwan-produced masks to Singapore. After commentators read the remark as ungrateful, she amended the caption to express gratitude to friends in Taiwan.

In August 2023, amid debate over then-presidential candidate Tan Kin Lian's posts about "pretty girls", Ho suggested on Facebook that the Presidential Elections Committee should not be expected to act as an "arbiter of moral standards".

In February 2026, Ho published a defence of Singapore's 2008 abolition of estate duty, arguing that direct wealth taxes often fail because of capital mobility; the position drew pushback online. In June 2026 she publicly criticised excuses for racism amid debate over immigration policy.

Philanthropy

Ho has a particular interest in special needs education, healthcare and child welfare. She is the founding chairman of the Trailblazer Foundation Ltd, an IPC charity funding education, health, sports and community welfare, and is a patron of Assisi Hospice. She is an advisor to the Autism Resource Centre—which runs Pathlight School—and a patron of the Autism Association of Singapore.

In August 2016, during a state visit to the White House marking 50 years of US–Singapore relations, Ho drew positive attention for carrying a pouch designed by an autistic student from Pathlight School under its Artist Development Programme, which she had acquired at an ARC fundraising event. In March 2014 she was inducted into the Singapore Women's Hall of Fame.

Personal life

Ho married Lee Hsien Loong on 17 December 1985 and the couple have two sons, Li Hongyi and Li Haoyi; she is also stepmother to Lee's two children from his first marriage, Xiuqi and Yipeng. She met Lee while starting out at the Ministry of Defence, alongside future prime minister Goh Chok Tong. Her sister, Ho Peng, chairs the Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board, and her brother, Ho Sing, is an executive director of Starhill Global REIT.

Honours

National

• Public Administration Medal (Silver) — 1985
• Public Service Star — 1996

Foreign

• Sultan of Brunei Golden Jubilee Medal — 6 October 2017
• Dato' Sri Mulia Sultan Ibrahim Johor (SMIJ), carrying the title Datin Paduka — 6 May 2022
• Darjah Paduka Seri Laila Jasa (PSLJ), carrying the title Datin Paduka Seri Laila Jasa — 16 July 2022

Academic

• NUS Distinguished Engineering Alumnus Award — 1995
• Honorary Fellow, Institution of Engineers, Singapore
• Honorary Fellowship, Singapore Institute of Directors — 2025
• Eminent Alumni Award, National University of Singapore — 2025

Rankings and recognition

• Named one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people who shaped the world (2007)
• Forbes World's Most Powerful Women: 36th (2006), 3rd (2007), 59th (2014), 30th (2016), 23rd (2019), 30th (2020)
• Bloomberg Markets 50 Most Influential (2011)
• Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute Public Investor 100 — ranked 9th (2013)
• Asian Business Leaders Award, Asia House (2014)