Honorary Citizen Award on Mr Tata and Tan Sri Tsao
Friday, 29th August 2008
Singapore honored Mr Ratan N. Tata (Chairman of Tata Sons Ltd, India) and Tan Sri Frank Tsao Wen-King (Chairman of IMC Group, China) with the 2007 Honorary Citizen Award for their valuable contributions to the country. This is the fifth year Singapore is conferring the Honorary Citizen Award. President S R Nathan will confer the Honorary Citizen Award on the two recipients at a ceremony to be held at the Istana on 29 August 2008.
Mr Tata has had a long association with Singapore and is a strong advocate of the country. He was instrumental in expanding and diversifying Tata's operations in Singapore from steel manufacturing to information technology, from precision engineering to auto components, and others. Over the years, Mr Tata's business acumen has helped Singapore tap into higher value-added growth sectors. Tan Sri Tsao has played a pivotal role in shaping the growth of the maritime industry and in promoting maritime education and research. In particular, Tan Sri Tsao has been a strong advocate for Singapore, championing its development as an international maritime centre. Under his directions, IMC moved its operational headquarters and bulk shipping operations to Singapore in the early nineties.