|
[Singapore and Hong Kong, 8 March 2007]- The Lee Kuan Yew School
of Public Policy (LKYSPP) at the National University of Singapore
(NUS) is pleased to announce that it has received a S$100 million
gift from the Li Ka Shing Foundation and Dr Li Ka-shing's group
of companies, Cheung Kong (Holdings) Limited and Hutchison Whampoa
Limited. The S$100 million gift will be matched with a dollar-for-dollar
matching grant from the Singapore Government. The two contributions
will be combined together to create an endowment fund to support
academic activities.
Professor Kishore Mahbubani, Dean of LKYSPP said: "We deeply
appreciate this generous contribution by Dr Li. One key goal of
the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy is to train the next generation
of policy makers and leaders who will help raise standards of governance
and improve the lives of ordinary people in the region." He
added: "By allowing the School to offer more scholarships,
Dr Li's gift will help us fulfill one of our key missions of attracting
promising young policy makers from Asia to study public policy.
The region needs to develop strong public sector institutions to
keep pace with its economic growth. Over the longer term this will
benefit not only Asia but the whole world. In this context, Dr Li's
gift is an important contribution not just to our School but also
to Asia and the world."
NUS President Professor Shih Choon Fong said: "We are deeply
grateful to Dr Li Ka-shing for his generosity and confidence in
NUS' Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy. Higher education in Singapore
has benefited greatly from the support and munificence of visionary
philanthropists. Dr Li's transformational gift will enable the Lee
Kuan Yew School of Public Policy to strive for new heights of excellence,
and help NUS extend its reach and impact as a global university
of distinction."
The gift by the Li Ka Shing Foundation (50%), Cheung Kong (Holdings)
Limited (25%) and Hutchison Whampoa Limited (25%) will be used to
create an endowment fund to support academic activities including
the endowment of chair professorships and the setting up of more
than 40 scholarships annually. These scholarships will continue
in perpetuity and over time create a distinguished alumni of policy
makers in the region. The scholarships offered by the School will
benefit students from Mainland China, Hong Kong, India, Vietnam
and other Southeast Asian countries and regions, as well as local
students in Singapore, Professor Mahbubani added.
To honour and recognise Dr Li's support and generosity, LKYSPP
will name one of its three buildings at the historic Bukit Timah
Campus after him. The building - which sits on a rise overlooking
the Botanic Gardens valley - houses the school's executive education
programmes and the largest concentration of its faculty and researchers.
Dr Li Ka-shing said: "Globalisation posts new complexities
for governments worldwide. Policy makers everywhere need to develop
policies that embrace the importance of diversity and integrate
it within a structure of unity. This is certainly an important task
and a formidable challenge. By bringing together policy makers from
different countries to think about these issues together, I hope
the scholarships might sow seeds of perpetual prosperity and peace."
Minister Mentor Lee said: "Dr Li Ka-shing and I are old friends.
By his generous donation of S$100 million to the LKYSPP, I am happy
that his name will be on one of the three blocks of buildings on
the campus of the school that is named after me."
Photo
- End -
Previous
|
