Second Permanent Secretary (Trade & Industry) Chee Hong Tat leaves the Civil Service

Date: 4 August 2015

Second Permanent Secretary (Trade & Industry) Chee Hong Tat leaves the Civil Service

Mr Chee Hong Tat (徐芳达), 41, Second Permanent Secretary (Trade & Industry), will be leaving the Civil Service. His last day of service is 11 August 2015.

Mr Chee joined the Administrative Service in 1998. He held various appointments in the Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Transport and Ministry of Education, before being appointed as Principal Private Secretary to Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew in 2008.  He was appointed Chief Executive, Energy Market Authority (EMA) in 2011. Under his leadership, consumers benefitted from EMA’s initiatives to improve Singapore’s energy security and enhance market competition, while maintaining a reliable and resilient power system. He worked closely with the industry and unions to strengthen the energy sector’s capabilities through long-term infrastructure planning, energy R&D and manpower development. Mr Chee also spearheaded the review of EMA’s rules and requirements to support the deployment of solar energy in Singapore, and to reduce regulatory costs and improve flexibility for businesses and consumers.

Mr Chee was appointed Second Permanent Secretary (Trade & Industry) in 2014.  His areas of responsibilities in MTI include international trade policies, tourism, industrial land, competition policy, entrepreneurship and enterprise development.  He was active in promoting a business-friendly environment and helping SMEs to raise their competitiveness through innovation, market access and capability development.  He led the review of the Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act and proposed enhanced measures to protect consumers against errant retailers.  As Deputy Chairman of the Pro-Enterprise Panel, Mr Chee regularly engaged trade associations and companies to get their feedback on improving government rules and regulations.

Mr Chee was awarded the Public Administration Medal (Silver) in 2010 for his significant contributions to the public sector.