By Liaw Wy-Cin

IN LESS than six months, the new research institute at the Singapore Management University (SMU) has already hit its fund-raising target of $17 million.

The $17.2 million raised will go into an endowment fund for the Sim Kee Boon Institute for Financial Economics set up in July at SMU.

The donations came from the institute's fund-raising panel, as well as the family, friends, business associates and golfing buddies of the late Sim Kee Boon, the former head of the Singapore Civil Service.

The new institute was named after Mr Sim, who died in November last year at the age of 78, to honour his contributions to Singapore's early economic development. The institute aims to stand out in the Asia-Pacific region for research in financial economics. Areas of interest include retirement security for the ageing population and the role of bank lending in real estate market crashes.

During a dinner at the Istana last night, hosted by President S R Nathan to thank donors, honorary patron of the fund-raising committee Lim Chee Onn said the new institute could 'play a significant role in reinforcing and propagating the vital principles which Kee Boon subscribed to and adhered to so faithfully - integrity, transparency, passion and compassion'.

'Judging from the current mess in the financial sector, these attributes are sorely needed not only among financial institutions, but also business in general,' he added.

Mr Sim was head of the Civil Service from 1979 to 1984, and was a member of the Council of Presidential Advisers from 2001 to 2006.

He is credited with the development of Changi Airport and for turning home-grown shipbuilding company Keppel into a global corporation.

Temasek Holdings was the biggest donor to the endowment fund, putting in $10 million. The Government will match the sum raised by the same amount. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) will add another $7.5 million over five years for financial training at the new institute. That amount will also be matched by the Government.

Two of the late Mr Sim's sons said the family was proud of this honour, and that their father would have wanted the institute's work to be grounded in real-life applications.

'He always said something can be learnt from talking to anybody, and he would talk to everyone, from the waiter to the security guard,' said Mr Sim's second son David, 50, an entrepreneur now living in Cambodia.

wycin@sph.com.sg

This article was first published in The Straits Times on 10 Dec, 2008.