PSA Group Chairman Receives Royal Award from Belgium
On 27 November 2014, PSA Group Chairman Fock Siew Wah was conferred the national distinction ‘Commander of the Order of the Crown’ from His Majesty King Philippe of Belgium for his merit, dedication and services rendered to the Kingdom of Belgium.
Her Royal Highness Princess Astrid, Representative of His Majesty the King of Belgium, who was visiting PSA as part of the Belgian Economic Mission in Singapore, personally bestowed the award on PSA Group Chairman Fock Siew Wah at a ceremony held in the presence of dignitaries from the Belgian government and business community, ambassadors of Belgium and Singapore; and PSA senior leaders.
In his thank you address, Mr Fock Siew Wah, Group Chairman, PSA International, said, “It is a rare honour to be conferred this distinction and it is something that I will always cherish in my heart. I receive this with gratefulness and a lot of deep feelings for Belgium. I believe it is also a deeper and greater recognition of our people in Belgium, Singapore and around the world where we have a presence, for their hard work and dedication.”
PSA has been active investor in the two main ports of Antwerp and Zeebrugge in Belgium since 2002, when it acquired the local port stevedore Hesse-Noord Natie. As one of PSA’s largest investments outside of Singapore, the PSA Antwerp and PSA Zeebrugge terminals handled around eight million Twenty-foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) of containers last year in Belgium.
After joining PSA as a director in August 2005, Mr Fock assumed Chairmanship of the company on 1 November 2005. He is a member of the Temasek Advisory Panel. In addition, he is also Chairman of Singapore-Sichuan Investment Holdings Pte Ltd and Pavilion Capital Holdings Pte Ltd.
Mr Fock’s distinguished career, which spans the banking, finance and transportation sectors, started with a 13-year stint at JP Morgan where he rose to head the US bank's regional investment banking presence in North and South East Asia and then the Asia-Pacific Treasury operations in 1984 before moving to helm Overseas Union Bank Ltd as President and CEO in 1988. He was also Special Advisor to the Singapore Minister for Finance for four years until 1995.
Besides being a veteran in the banking and finance sector, Mr Fock also has a wealth of experience from the transport sector. He was Chairman of the Singapore MRT Ltd for 9 years followed by the Land Transport Authority for 7 years. In addition, he was Special Advisor to the Chairman of DBS Bank Ltd until end of 2007.
Highly respected for his management experience and sound counsel, Mr Fock has served on many Boards. These included a stint as Chairman of Singapore Airlines Cargo Pte Ltd, Nuri Holdings (S) Pte Ltd and East-West Bank in California, Deputy Chairman of Fraser & Neave Ltd, as well as directorships in Temasek Holdings (Pte) Ltd, Singapore Technologies Holdings Pte Ltd, Singapore Airlines, DBS Bank Ltd, Great Eastern Life Assurance Company Limited, and Times Publishing Limited.
In recognition of his contribution to Singapore, he received the 1997 National Day Award’s “Meritorious Service Medal” and in 2008, he was bestowed the “Distinguished Contribution Award” by the Land Transport Authority. In 2009, he was conferred the “Distinguished Service Order” by the President of the Republic of Singapore on National Day and in 2012, he received the “Medal of Commendation (Gold)” from the National Trades Union Congress.
About PSA International (PSA)
PSA International is one of the leading global port groups. PSA participates in port projects across Asia, Europe and the Americas with flagship operations in PSA Singapore Terminals and PSA Antwerp. Employing the finest talents in the industry, PSA delivers reliable and best-in-class service to its customers and develops win-win relationships with its partners. As the port operator of choice in the world's gateway hubs, PSA is “The World's Port of Call”.