Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) to get new Managing Director

Oleh Si Ying Thian

Coming March, Jermaine Loy will take over as Managing Director of Singapore’s lead government agency for economic and industrial development.

Jermaine Loy will officially take over as Managing Director at the Economic Development (EDB) from March onwards. Image: Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA); EDB

From January 1, 2025, Jermaine Loy will be appointed as Managing Director-Designate of the Economic Development Board (EDB), and officially taking over the position from March onwards.

Since 2021, Loy served at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) as the Principal Private Secretary to then Prime Minister and current Senior Minister, Lee Hsien Loong.

Before that, he was the Senior Director of the Strategic Planning Division at the Ministry of National Development (MND), where he oversaw the policies and planning related to Singapore’s land-use needs from August 2017 to March 2021.

He has also held various positions at different ministries, including the Ministry of Health (MOH), Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI), as well as the Board of the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA).

Coming March will also see EDB’s current Managing Director, Jacqueline Poh, stepping down and assuming the role of Deputy Secretary (Industry) at the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI).

In her three years at EDB, the agency saw record investment commitments in 2022 surpassing EDB’s targets.

*In Jacqueline Poh's three years at EDB, the agency saw record investment commitments in 2022 surpassing its targets. Image: A*STAR*

The Business Times reported that Singapore secured a “record high figure” of S$22.5 billion in fixed asset investment (FAI) commitments in 2022, up from S$11.8 billion in 2021.

FAI is used to describe a company's capital investment in equipment, machinery, and facilities.

“These accomplishments came amid a challenging global operating environment marked by technological disruption, global tax reforms, and geopolitical uncertainties impacting business decisions,” said an official press release.

She also contributed to both local and global interagency partnerships to develop important areas in the Singapore economy, including the digital economy, artificial intelligence (AI), precision medicine, and sustainability.

Poh was the founding Chief Executive of the Government Technology Agency of Singapore (GovTech Singapore), as well as the Managing Director of the former Infocommunications Development Authority (IDA) – the agency that was split in 2016 into GovTech and the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA).

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