FORMER top civil servant Ngiam Tong Dow has started a private consultancy that will help governments form public policies to accelerate economic and social development.

It will offer advice on issues ranging from urban design to infrastructure building to developing new businesses.

Besides Mr Ngiam, the stable of advisers will include other senior civil servants and head honchos of government-linked companies.

Elaborating on what the consultancy can offer, he said: 'I'll help you formulate public policies that will accelerate your economic growth.

'How do I do it? By having people who have knowledge domain, whether it's housing, health care, education, urban planning or transport planning. Having spent 40 years in the civil service, I know who can and who can't.'

The company, called iGlobe Advisors, was incorporated on Oct 18, and will begin operations next Tuesday. It will complement venture capital firm iGlobe Partners, at which Mr Ngiam is an adviser.

It is not the first organisation to offer Singapore's public sector expertise to other countries.

Last year, the Singapore Government set up the not-for-profit Singapore Cooperation Enterprise (SCE), which is run by the Foreign Affairs and Trade and Industry ministries.

Among its clients were the China and Middle East governments such as Qatar and Dubai.

Mr Ngiam said his company will complement SCE.

Read the full report in Friday's edition of The Straits Times.