Richard Hu

Richard Hu Tsu Tau
Born	Richard Hu Tsu Tau October 30, 1926 (age 90) Singapore
Spouse(s)	Irene Tan Dee Leng
Children	2
Parent(s)	Hu Tsai Kuen

Richard Hu Tsu Tau (simplified Chinese: 胡赐道; traditional Chinese: 胡賜道; pinyin: Hú Cì Dào, born October 30, 1926) is a former People's Action Party (PAP) politician in Singapore. He served as the Minister of Finance for 16 years from 1985 to 2001, and was also a Director of Government of Singapore Investment Corporation Pte Ltd. He is the son of doctor Hu Tsai Kuen.

Early life

Dr Richard Hu Tsu Tau was educated at the Anglo-Chinese School. In 1952, Hu obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from the University of California in the United States and subsequently pursued a postgraduate diploma and a doctorate degree in Chemical Engineering, both from the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom.^[1]

Career

Hu joined the Royal Dutch Shell Group of Companies in 1960 and rose to the position of Chairman and Chief Executive of this global company in Singapore between 1977 and 1983.^[2]

In 1983, Hu became the Managing Director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC), holding both posts concurrently until 1984.

Hu contested as a People's Action Party candidate in the Kreta Ayer Single Member Constituency^[3] in 1984 General Elections and won the election. Following the elections, he became the Minister for Health for two years from 1985 to 1987 and the Minister of Finance^[4] for 16 years from 1985 to 2001.^[5] As the Minister of Finance, Hu is perhaps best known by his signature on the 'Ship' series of legal tender notes issued after his appointment.^[6] He also introduced the Goods and Services Tax in 1993. As part of deregulation and reform of its financial and banking sectors, Hu oversaw the privatisation of the government-run Post Office Savings Bank (POSB) and the sale of POSB to the Development Bank of Singapore (DBS) in 1998.^[7]

On April 13, 2004, Hu joined the Board of Singaporean property development company CapitaLand and was elected Chairman the same day, until his retirement in 2012.^[8] He was also the Chairman of GIC Real Estate Pte Ltd^[9] and Asia Financial Holdings Pte Ltd, as well as a Director of the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC)^[10] and a Director of Buildfolio.Com.Inc Hu also served as the Chancellor of the Singapore Management University from July 2002 to August 2010.^[11]

In 2013, Hu was appointed as senior advisor of the Fraser and Neave board.^[12]

Family

Hu is married to Irene Tan Dee Leng, and has one son (Jeremy) and one daughter (Geraldine). He is a Hakka Chinese.

References

1. http://www.straitstimes.com/the-big-story/budget-2015/story/50-years-the-budget-singapores-finance-ministers-independence-201502
2. "Management Team | Barghest Building Performance".
3. "Official Reports". Parliament of Singapore. Retrieved 5 December 2015.
4. Tesoro, Jose Manuel. "SINGAPORE Keeping Up the Pace". Asiaweek. Retrieved 5 December 2015.
5. "History". Ministry of Finance. Government of Singapore. Retrieved 5 December 2015.
6. "Note Facts". The Singapore Mint. The Singapore Mint. Retrieved 5 December 2015.
7. "National Archives of Singapore". Retrieved 5 December 2015.
8. "CapitaLand chairman Richard Hu to step down". Retrieved 10 June 2015.
9. "Richard Hu Tsu Tau Ph.D.". Retrieved 5 December 2015.
10. Lee, Meixian. "Richard Hu to retire from GIC board". Retrieved 5 December 2015.
11. http://www.smu.edu.sg/news_room/press_releases/2010/20100831.asp Singapore Management University : Mr Yong Pung How appointed new Chancellor of SMU
12. "F&N: Appoints Dr. Richard Hu As Senior Adviser To The Board.". Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. Business Times. 3 April 2013. Retrieved 5 December 2015.

External links

• AIMR Conference Proceedings May 1996, Volume 1996 Issue 5