Senior Appointment Changes at The Council for Estate Agencies

1. The Ministry of National Development (MND) announced today the following senior appointment changes at the Council for Estate Agencies (CEA):

· Mr Lim Chee Hwee (林志辉), will relinquish his current appointment as Executive Director (ED) of CEA and be appointed as Senior Director (Planning), Municipal Services Office (MSO), MND, on 1 March 2024;

· Mr Chan Khar Liang (陈家亮), currently Senior Director of the Infrastructure Division in MND, will be appointed as Executive Director (Designate) of CEA from 1 January 2024 to 29 February 2024, and as Executive Director of CEA from 1 March 2024.

2. As ED of CEA since 2019, Mr Lim Chee Hwee guided CEA to work closely with industry stakeholders to review the Real Estate Industry Transformation Map as well as digitalise the property transaction process. Under his leadership, the CEA-Industry workgroup was established to review and enhance the industry’s Continuing Professional Development ecosystem under Project ADEPT (Advancing and Enhancing Professionalism and Training) contributing to the professionalisation of the industry.

3. Mr Lim also led CEA in strengthening CEA’s role as the industry regulator, overseeing the comprehensive review and amendment of the Estate Agents Act. This has led to, among others, a new Letter of Censure disciplinary regime to effectively enforce against errant property agents and agencies for minor disciplinary breaches, and to impose higher maximum financial penalties on errant agents and agencies for serious disciplinary breaches. New regulations on prevention of money laundering and financing of terrorism were subsequently introduced. Mr Lim also launched the Transaction Records Initiative where CEA publishes the records of property agents’ residential property transactions to help consumers make informed choices when engaging property agents.

4. Mr Chan Khar Liang started his career in the Public Service in 2001, and has served in several ministries. He had previously held the Director of the National Climate Change Secretariat in the Prime Minister’s Office (2009 – 2011), where he coordinated inter-agency climate change work, including Singapore’s strategies on climate mitigation and resilience. He was also the Director of the North East Asia Division in the Ministry of Trade and Industry (2013 – 2018), where he managed Singapore’s relations with key economies in North East Asia. As the Senior Director of the Infrastructure Division in MND since 2018, Mr Chan has worked with the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) to drive the transformation of the Built Environment sector, as well as with the National Parks Board (NParks) to advance Singapore’s City in Nature objectives. Through his various postings, he has accumulated significant policy and operational experience.

5. We thank Mr Lim and Mr Chan for their continued contribution to the MND Family.

Jointly Issued by:

Ministry of National Development

Council for Estate Agencies

Date: 6 November 2023