SINGAPORE: Potential presidential candidate George Goh said on Tuesday (Jun 13) he is confident of qualifying to run in the upcoming Presidential Election.
Mr Goh, who was speaking to the media after collecting eligibility forms from the Elections Department (ELD), announced his intention to run in the presidential election on Monday.
He said that he had put together a team of professionals to determine his eligibility, and that he will submit the number of companies he has founded and incorporated “in due course”.
“I am confident I will meet the criteria,” he said.
The 63-year-old presidential hopeful is the chairman of Ossia International, a Singapore Exchange (SGX)-listed investment holding company with a market capitalisation of about S$45 million (US$33 million) as of Monday.
Mr Goh said that after 41 years in business, he had grown his companies to a combined value of S$3.15 billion “over the years”, from just S$5,000.
“When I started, I don't have anything but this land give me a lot … I must thank all Singaporeans (who) supported me over the years,” he said.
Mr George Goh, chairman of Ossia International, with his family at the Elections Department in Singapore on Jun 13, 2023. (Photo: CNA/Try Sutrisno Foo)
To stand in the election, Mr Goh has to first satisfy the criteria set out in the Constitution. For private sector candidates, they must have been, for three years or more, the chief executive of a company with shareholder equity of S$500 million or more.
A reporter also asked if Mr Goh was concerned that Ossia International was on the SGX watchlist. Companies are put on the list if they record pre-tax losses for the three most recently completed consecutive financial years and have an average daily market capitalisation of less than S$40 million over the last six months.
According to an Ossia announcement to SGX in December last year, the company had a pre-tax profit for the last three financial years, following “concerted efforts to increase its profitability”.
This fulfilled one of the requirements to be removed from the watchlist, the company said. However, the company did not have an average daily market capitalisation of S$40 million or more over the previous six months and had applied for an extension to meet the criteria for exiting the watchlist.
When asked if he was worried that Ossia International was on the SGX watchlist, Mr Goh said that he was not as Ossia was just one of his companies.
“This is only one of the companies, it’s not going to affect (my) eligibility,” he said.
Ossia International was trading at 0.18 cents on SGX at around noon on Tuesday.
Mr Goh was born in Negeri Sembilan, according to an interview with Chinese daily Lianhe Zaobao.
He has been living and working in Singapore since 1975, and became a Singapore citizen in 1990.
Married with four children, Mr Goh also co-founded the charity Border Mission and is a council member at the Red Cross Society, among other roles.
His wife, Madam Lysa Sumali, and his four children were at the ELD along with his supporters, who were mostly dressed in red. There were about 50 supporters present, Mr Goh's media team said.
Mr Goh is the second person to declare his intention to run in the upcoming Presidential Election, after Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam.
Mr Tharman said on Sunday that he welcomes a contest, adding: “My whole approach is not to shy away from competition. It’s always been that way. It’s how I prove myself.”
Continue reading...
Mr Goh, who was speaking to the media after collecting eligibility forms from the Elections Department (ELD), announced his intention to run in the presidential election on Monday.
He said that he had put together a team of professionals to determine his eligibility, and that he will submit the number of companies he has founded and incorporated “in due course”.
“I am confident I will meet the criteria,” he said.
The 63-year-old presidential hopeful is the chairman of Ossia International, a Singapore Exchange (SGX)-listed investment holding company with a market capitalisation of about S$45 million (US$33 million) as of Monday.
Mr Goh said that after 41 years in business, he had grown his companies to a combined value of S$3.15 billion “over the years”, from just S$5,000.
“When I started, I don't have anything but this land give me a lot … I must thank all Singaporeans (who) supported me over the years,” he said.
Mr George Goh, chairman of Ossia International, with his family at the Elections Department in Singapore on Jun 13, 2023. (Photo: CNA/Try Sutrisno Foo)
Related:
To stand in the election, Mr Goh has to first satisfy the criteria set out in the Constitution. For private sector candidates, they must have been, for three years or more, the chief executive of a company with shareholder equity of S$500 million or more.
A reporter also asked if Mr Goh was concerned that Ossia International was on the SGX watchlist. Companies are put on the list if they record pre-tax losses for the three most recently completed consecutive financial years and have an average daily market capitalisation of less than S$40 million over the last six months.
According to an Ossia announcement to SGX in December last year, the company had a pre-tax profit for the last three financial years, following “concerted efforts to increase its profitability”.
This fulfilled one of the requirements to be removed from the watchlist, the company said. However, the company did not have an average daily market capitalisation of S$40 million or more over the previous six months and had applied for an extension to meet the criteria for exiting the watchlist.
When asked if he was worried that Ossia International was on the SGX watchlist, Mr Goh said that he was not as Ossia was just one of his companies.
“This is only one of the companies, it’s not going to affect (my) eligibility,” he said.
Ossia International was trading at 0.18 cents on SGX at around noon on Tuesday.
Mr Goh was born in Negeri Sembilan, according to an interview with Chinese daily Lianhe Zaobao.
He has been living and working in Singapore since 1975, and became a Singapore citizen in 1990.
Married with four children, Mr Goh also co-founded the charity Border Mission and is a council member at the Red Cross Society, among other roles.
His wife, Madam Lysa Sumali, and his four children were at the ELD along with his supporters, who were mostly dressed in red. There were about 50 supporters present, Mr Goh's media team said.
Mr Goh is the second person to declare his intention to run in the upcoming Presidential Election, after Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam.
Mr Tharman said on Sunday that he welcomes a contest, adding: “My whole approach is not to shy away from competition. It’s always been that way. It’s how I prove myself.”
Related:
Continue reading...