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SINGAPORE \u2013 Former Economic Development Board (EDB) chairman Chan Chin Bock died on Sept 12 at the age of 93, leaving behind his wife Rose and daughter Grace.<\/p>\n
One of the architects of the Republic\u2019s economic take-off towards the end of the first decade of independence, he spent more than 30 years at the statutory board and was its third chairman from 1972 to 1975, and alternate chairman from 1975 to 1987, when he was based in the US.<\/p>\n
Chan expanded EDB\u2019s international footprint, attracted prominent multinational companies to Singapore, and created joint training centres to build up Singapore\u2019s skilled labour pool.<\/p>\n
He also continued to mentor young EDB officers after he left in 1995.<\/p>\n
He received the Public Administration Medal (Silver) in 1969, the Public Administration Medal (Gold) in 1973 and the Meritorious Service Award in 1988.<\/p>\n
Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong praised him as \u201cone of the pioneers of Singapore\u2019s economic development\u201d, in a Facebook post on Sept 12.<\/p>\n
He wrote: \u201cMr Chan and others of his generation were working without a proven playbook, but they understood that Singapore\u2019s future depended on staying open to the world, earning the confidence of investors, and continually building the capabilities of our people.<\/p>\n
\u201cIndeed, one of his major projects was to build up Singapore\u2019s skill base, through apprenticeship and training programmes that laid the foundation for high-tech, capital-intensive industries to come to Singapore and create jobs for our people.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added that Singapore owed Chan \u201ca debt of gratitude for his contributions\u201d and that \u201chis family and loved ones may… find comfort in knowing that his life\u2019s work has left an enduring mark on our country\u201d.<\/p>\n
In a separate Facebook post that day, Minister for Trade and Industry (Energy and Industry)\u00a0Tan\u00a0See\u00a0Leng said: \u201cFrom helping to develop new industries in our early years to navigating the difficult economic conditions of the 1980s, Mr Chan witnessed first-hand how Singapore\u2019s economy grew and transformed over the decades.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis contributions left a lasting legacy at EDB, and helped shape the organisation as it evolved with Singapore\u2019s changing needs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chan was a teacher before he joined EDB in 1964 and worked under Hon Sui Sen \u2013 EDB\u2019s founding chairman, who later became finance minister.<\/p>\n
He was then sent to the US to contact more than 300,000 MNCs across 50 states to woo them here to produce goods for export, according to a 2015 Straits Times report.<\/p>\n
Chan himself knocked on the doors of those companies and asked them to visit Singapore, then persuaded them to open factories to create jobs here.<\/p>\n
Among the colourful anecdotes of his illustrious career was when he refused to sign a three-year bond for EDB sponsoring his four-month course at a United Nations Fellows Programme in 1968.<\/p>\n
\u201cI refused to sign the bond, but instead I stayed for 30 years without the bond,\u201d he quipped.<\/p>\n
After retiring in 1995, he briefly led the\u00a0EDB\u00a0Consulting Group\u00a0and\u00a0undertook development projects in Oman, Ghana\u00a0and\u00a0Cambodia.<\/p>\n
Despite having to use a wheelchair after a stroke in 1997, he returned regularly to the office to train young officers.<\/p>\n
In its own Facebook post, EDB hailed him as \u201cone of the pioneering leaders of Singapore\u2019s economic story\u201d.<\/p>\n
It said that foreign investment commitments secured by EDB increased from $320 million to $1.7 billion a year when Chan oversaw its worldwide network of 17 offices. Chan also secured Singapore\u2019s first investment in the semiconductor and precision engineering industries, according to the board.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese industries laid the groundwork for the information technology, semiconductor and aerospace industries that Singapore has today,\u201d EDB said, adding that Chan helped establish its International Advisory Council.<\/p>\n
\u201cMr Chan will always be remembered and admired for his leadership skills and his total dedication to Singapore. His passion and vision were his legacy, inspiring generations of EDB officers past and present,\u201d the board said.<\/p>\n
\u201cEDB will honour his legacy and continue to attract investments, develop industries and create good jobs for Singaporeans.\u201d<\/p>\n
His wake is being held at the Church of St Stephen in MacPherson on Sept 13 from 11am to 10pm, with a service at 8pm. The cortege leaves at 12.45pm on Sept 14 for Mandai Crematorium Hall 2 for cremation at 1.40pm.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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SINGAPORE \u2013 Former Economic Development Board (EDB) chairman Chan Chin Bock died on Sept 12 at the age of 93, leaving behind his wife Rose…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":84486,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2611],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-84485","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-buzz-headlines","wpcat-2611-id"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84485","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=84485"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84485\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/84486"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=84485"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=84485"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=84485"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}