Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC has named De Rui Wong head of sustainability, elevating a longtime employee who helped build the fund’s sustainability function from its early stages.
Wong joined GIC’s Sustainability Office in 2019 as its second team member and has spent nearly seven years helping develop the function. In a LinkedIn post announcing his new role, he said he plans to build on the work of his predecessors, Emily Chew and Rachel Teo.
His appointment marks the latest chapter in a career at GIC that began in 2010. Wong initially joined the fund as a macro analyst covering Japan and oil markets before moving into Asia-Pacific equity research and later serving as staff assistant to GIC’s senior investment leadership. After leaving the fund in 2017 for a brief stint as a senior research analyst at Hong Kong-based alternative investment firm PAG, he returned to GIC in 2019 to help build its sustainability capabilities.
In his new role, Wong said GIC’s sustainability strategy will focus on three areas: energy-transition investments capable of generating returns across different policy environments; adaptation and resilience opportunities arising from growing climate risks; and more actively managing physical climate risks within GIC’s existing portfolio.
The emphasis on adaptation reflects Wong’s view that physical climate risks are becoming increasingly important investment considerations even as political support for climate-related policies has weakened in some markets and higher interest rates have challenged clean-technology investments.
He pointed to areas such as flood-resistant building materials, impact-resistant glass and weather intelligence as potential beneficiaries of growing demand for climate-adaptation solutions. Because the effects of physical climate risk can be difficult to quantify and unfold over long periods, Wong said investors that identify those trends early may find opportunities. for climate-adaptation solutions. Because the effects of physical climate risk can be difficult to quantify and unfold over long periods, Wong said investors that identify those trends early may find opportunities.