The news is all over the world. Our Prime Minister's 2nd wife, Ho Ching is now the World's 3rd Most Powerful Woman - conferred by Forbes. But the funny thing is I have already heard about this going on through the grapevines two years ago. I wonder why Forbes is so behind time? May be Forbes is a bit cautious not to get itself into trouble like FEER did? Anyway Time Magazine only dared to confer her as one of the Top 100 Most Influential Women in the World. I think now Forbes deserves a pat on its back.
This is what Forbes has described Ho Ching as:
Although she is the wife of the prime minister of Singapore and chief executive of the country's state-owned investment company, Ho Ching is rarely seen or heard from. But increasingly she is a force to be reckoned with, as her dealmaking ambitions span the globe. Ho Ching has been credited with converting Temasek from a Singapore-focused firm to a leading investor in Asia, making investments in Indian and Chinese companies, primarily in the telecom and banking sectors. Thanks to Ho Ching's dealmaking, the net value of Temasek's portfolio grew 27% to $108 billion from $80 billion the previous year. "This is the first time that Temasek's portfolio has crossed the US$100 billion mark," the company said in a statement. Temasek recently announced plans to invest in Barclays to support the British bank's attempted takeover of ABN Amro, the Netherlands' largest bank. However, Temasek's tax-free takeover of Shin Corp., one of Thailand's biggest telecom companies, sparked a wave of protests. The tax-free deal, along with allegations of corruption, eventually led to the overthrow of Thailand's prime minister. Moreover, the $3.8 billion Shin takeover helped hurt Temasek's profits, as an impairment charge for the deal and other associated companies caused its earnings to fall 29% this year. Ho Ching earned a master's degree in control engineering at Stanford University and held a number of top positions in both public and private entities in Singapore, before being named to her current position.—Megha BahreeSource: http://www.forbes.com/lists/2007/11/biz-07women_Ho-Ching_OO5O.html
My old confused brain keeps trying to create more and more Wonders for our beloved Singapore. One Member of Parliament has already named the 7 Wonders of Singapoe, e.g. the Environment Building, the PUB Building, etc. And some young people participating in the various forums also came out with a different set of 7 wonders, such as: I wonder when the ERP is going to stop charging more and more; I wonder how much more the GST is going to increase in time to come; and I wonder who will take over as the next Prime Minister?
Now, it is my turn to wonder. I really can't help but wonder if Ho Ching is considered as the 3rd Most Powerful Woman in the World, what would our dear Prime Minister's position be? And what would our powerful Minister Mentor's position be in the World of Power?
Logically, if Ho Ching is the CEO of Temasek Holding, which is under the Ministry of Finance, whose Minister for Finance is none other than our Prime Minister himself. Therefore, I would assume that our Prime Minister is more powerful than Ho Ching. Is it not so? Then, by extension, our Prime Minister must be the 2nd Most Powerful Man in the World. Am I right?
Next, to extrapolate further: If Ho Ching, being the Executive Director of Temasek Holding, which is under the GIC, is the 3rd Most Powerful Woman in the World and her husband, the Prime Minister, is the 2nd Most Powerful Man in the World, then rightly our Minister Mentor, being the Chairman of the GIC, must be the Number One Most Powerful Man in the World. Am I right?
How wonderful! We have the Most Powerful Man, the 2nd Most Powerful Man and the 3rd Most Powerful Woman in the World. Now, by inference, our beloved Singapore is not only a 1st World Country, it has also become the Most Powerful Country in the World!
Wah! Ho Ching really did us proud. We must all salute her for her unselfish endeavour to make a mark for Singapore on the World's Network of Power.
Can we abolish NS and dismantle the SAF now? I just wonder .....
The Garuda - 2nd September 2007.
2 comments:
Dear garuda, if Confucius is in our midst, he would be confused by your ultimate respects for Diana Spencer, Maria Sharapova and now Ho Ching (wife of PM Lee Hsien Loong of Singapore) lately. Diana for her compassion, Sharapova for her sports(Tennis) prowess and Ho Ching for her ability to make money? Other than Diana, how do the other two benefit society? There are(were) no news of them doing charities or contributing to the wellbeings of others. There are one common feature for both Diana and Sharapova in their elegance and may one say beauty which might get the attention of men. I am pretty proud that some Singaporeans do(did) get the attentions of foreign medias. Specifically and especially when a tiny dot could produced some of the most powerful calibres in the World. Btw Confucius did not believe dames and small guys(nuzi yu xiaoren/ weaklings) are capable of great achievements. Did he know he would be wrong? Hurray from scb.
Dear SCB,
Greetings! You have asked a very difficult and complicated question. Actually, there are three questions in one. I won't know how Confucius will answer your question but my confused mind will attempt to make a guess.
I think Confucius may answer your question with another question, which is: "Have you heard of the Good, the Bad and the Ugly?"
Now, I will tell you why I highlighted these three ladies.
One, they have one thing in common. They are all Princess in their own right. Diana was born in a Royal family. Masha Sharapova has made herself as the Princess of the Tennis World. And Ho Ching was married to our 'Prince', so rightly she can also be considered as a Princess.
Two, there is something we can learn from all these three ladies - young, middle and old. They are all very adventurous, very determined and very strong in character. These are qualities of a winner. Take for example, Princess Diana, even her own tragic death is also a winner for her.
I can go on but I prefer to stop here. Sometimes, a confused mind may get carried away if he does not know when to stop. Thank you for your interaction, scb.
The Garuda.
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