Singtel's Chua Sock Koong, Temasek's Ho Ching on Fortune's list of most powerful women outside US

SINGAPORE - Two Singaporean women have been named on a list of the 50 most powerful women based outside the United States (US) by wealth magazine Fortune.

Singtel Group CEO Chua Sock Koong was ranked 4th, while Temasek Holdings CEO Ho Ching was 8th.

Fortune said Ms Chua, 58, who was ranked 3rd in Asia last year, had grown Singtel into Southeast Asia's biggest telecommunications company in a decade at the helm.

"The astute technocrat has also made sizable investments in cybersecurity, hoping to capitalise on Singapore's status as the most digital nation in the world. It is paying off," it added.

Meanwhile, the magazine highlighted Ms Ho's role in broadening Temasek's US$180 billion (S$245 billion) portfolio beyond Asia since she became the state investment fund's executive director in 2002.

Ms Ho, 63, was ranked 10th in Asia last year.

The list, which comprised businesswomen from 19 countries, was topped by Ana Botin, the group executive chairman of Spanish banking giant Banco Santander.

Asia was well-represented, with 20 entries in the top 50, led by State Bank of India chairperson Arundhati Bhattacharya, who was 2nd on the list.

The highest ranked Chinese businesswoman was Dong Mingzhu, the CEO of Chinese air conditioning manufacturer Gree Electric Appliances, who placed 11th.

Other prominent personalities on the list include Lucy Peng (16th); the CEO of Alibaba's financial services arm Ant Financial; Jean Liu (36th), CEO of Chinese ride-sharing service Didi Chuxing, and Marina Berlusconi (49th), the eldest daughter of former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi.

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