Draft:'Peter' Ng Kok Song

Peter Ng Kok Song (born Ng Kok Song) is a 2023 presidential candidate with a 43-year career in public service and finance. He is known as Peter Ng Kok Song through his work for World Community for Christian Meditation (WCCM).

Early life
Kok Song grew up in an attap house by the river in Kangkar, Singapore – where Sengkang is today, as the second of 11 children. This is the house he stayed in until age 24 when he got married. His father was a fish auctioneer while his mother was a housewife. To support his family, he helped his father auction fish at the local market and tended the family's chickens.

He was baptised into the Catholic church when he was seven years old where he served as an altar boy at the nearby Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Education
He studied at Montfort School for 12 years while also looking after his younger siblings.

Kok Song won a scholarship to study engineering in Canada but was unable to go abroad as he had to support his family. Instead, he took up the Public Service Commission scholarship to study physics and provide tuition at the National University of Singapore, and graduated in 1970.

He also graduated in management from Stanford University, California, USA in 1980.

Career
Kok Song embarked on a career in public service. He started as an administrative officer in the Ministry of Finance and later spent 15 years at the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) from 1971 to 1986. He rose from an officer to a director, gaining expertise in financial management and an understanding of Singapore's economic landscape.

In 1986, Kok Song joined the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) and assumed the role of GIC's group chief investment officer in 2007, steering GIC through multiple financial crises, including the 1987 market decline, the 1997 Asian currency crisis, the 2001 dot-com bust, and the 2008 global financial crisis.

Kok Song founded Avanda Investment Management, a rapidly growing asset management company in Singapore.

In 2023, he announced his running for candidacy in Singapore's 2023 Presidential Election.

See also: 2023 Singaporean presidential election

Recognition
The Singapore Government awarded Kok Song the prestigious Meritorious Service Medal in 2012. CFA Institute conferred on him the Thomas L Hansberger Award for Leadership in the global investment profession. He was a member of the Strategic Committee of Agency France Tresor and The Government of France conferred on him the award of La Croix de Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur. He founded the SIMEX derivatives exchange, and was inducted into the Futures Hall of Fame for his contribution to the global futures industry. He is Chairman Emeritus of the Wealth Management Institute at the Nanyang Technological University, and serves on PIMCO's Global Advisory board.

In 2008, Kok Song was invited back to his alma mater, Montford School, to inaugurate the Ng Kok Song Student Trophy Corner.

Quote
''“We’re moving from a period of peace to a period of war and conflict—that has brought about deglobalization. As a result, corporations need to invest more to ensure resilience,   said Kok Song at Forbes Global CEO Conference 2022.

Personal life
Kok Song married his wife, Patricia, in 1972, and had two kids during their marriage. In July, 2003, she was diagnosed with stage four stomach cancer, and passed 19 months later. After her diagnosis, she struggled emotionally and turned to Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew, for support, who was Senior Minister at the time. She wrote a letter to Mr Lee expressing her gratitude to him. Mr Lee replied to the letter sharing that his son, Lee Hsien Loong, was diagnosed with cancer of the lymphatic glands. Kok Song has publicly expressed his love and loss for his wife.

Meditation practices
Kok Song and his wife discovered Christian meditation after her diagnosis which helped them cope with her dying. He has been practising meditation in the Christian tradition for more than 30 years. He learnt the discipline from his friend and teacher, the Benedictine monk Laurence Freeman, who is the Director of WCCM. As chairman of the Lien Centre for Palliative Care since 2008, he is actively involved in interfaith work. He has helped organise seminars and taking part in classes at WCCM.

He has published four books on meditation: Contemplative Leadership, The Business of Spirit, The Meditation Journal Issue 2: Mental Health, and The Hunger for Depth and Meaning.