Lim Chow Kiat was appointed chief executive officer of GIC in January 2017. He joined the firm as a portfolio manager after graduating in 1993, rising through the ranks to helm the head the fixed income, currency and commodities division. He chairs the Group Executive Committee which governs and reviews all key investment, risk, and business decisions. He is responsible for the performance of GIC, and oversees the development and execution of long-term strategies.

Lim held a number of other roles at the firm prior to his appointment as CEO in January 2017; these include president of GIC Europe, overseeing investments and relationships in Europe, Africa and the Middle East; president of GIC Asset Management; group chief investment officer; and deputy group president.

In its annual report published in July 2022, GIC’s reported stable returns for the year, recording an annnualised dollar nominal rate of return seven per cent over a 20-year period ending March 2022. “Years of concern over deflation have turned into worries of elevated inflation, forcing economic policymakers to reverse stimulus policies”, Lim mentioned in the report, also adding that “given these uncertainties, we have doubled down on our core investment principles—diversify our portfolio, take the long view, and emphasise preparing rather than predicting”. At the helm, Lim is focusing on four long-term trends that will continue to drive GIC’s investment strategy in the new normal: the acceleration of digitalisation, sustainability, geopolitics and a changing China.

Lim is the holder of a first-class honours degree in accountancy from Nanyang Technological University. The chartered financial analyst, who attended the Stanford Executive Programme, intends to steer GIC’s search for future business guided by the growing influence of geopolitics on capital markets, as well as trends in technology and sustainability.

Lim is also chairman of the Wealth Management Institute and serves on the boards of Nanyang Technological University, the National Research Foundation, Enterprise Singapore and Focusing Capital on the Long Term Global. He is also a member of Agence France Trésor’s Strategic Committee and Mizuho Financial Group’s International Advisory Council as well as a former trustee of Nanyang Technological University.