This is an edited opening address given by GIC’s CEO Lim Chow Kiat at the opening of The Secret Vault, GIC's first public exhibition. 

GIC Chairman and Senior Minister Lee, Dr Tony Tan, Mr Ng Kok Song, distinguished guests, past and present members of the GIC Board and Board Committees, and friends from the media, good evening and welcome to The Secret Vault.

Not long ago, in 2021, amidst COVID-19, we marked GIC's 40th anniversary with the launch of Bold Vision, one of our early efforts to share the GIC story with the public. Five years on, that feels like a lifetime ago.

The world has changed. We emerged from COVID-19, only to face two major wars, an AI revolution, and more frequent climate disasters. These shifts will likely accelerate, and the investing challenges will grow with them.

To meet those challenges, GIC will need the best talent of the next generation. That means the younger generation must first know us better: how GIC came about, what we stand for, and why our work matters to Singapore. We hope that by engaging young Singaporeans, we can inspire some of them to join us in our mission, that is deeply meaningful – to secure Singapore's financial future.

That is why, for the first time, GIC is holding a public exhibition. The Secret Vault is an invitation to step into our story of safeguarding the reserves.

We expect strong interest from young Singaporeans. They care about health and fitness, and about environmental and social causes. They are also keenly interested in finance and investing, driven by curiosity and a desire for independence. We hope the experience gives them insights into long-term investing, protecting against inflation, and managing risk.

Although designed with younger visitors in mind, the experience will delight all ages. Visitors can travel back in time, take on a shopping challenge, face off against storms, navigate a maze, and bring a digital garden to full bloom.

It is not just fun and games. Each activity turns GIC's mandate and investment principles into something relatable and easy to grasp. Visitors will also learn some lesser-known history behind GIC's founding.

They may be surprised, too, by how many familiar names appear among our investments around the world: the Nintendo console at home, the holiday resort they stay at in Europe, even the AI models they now use at work and in daily life. Beyond investments, they will learn about GIC's impact on communities and take home a small keepsake designed by one of our community partners.

The exhibition ends on a forward-looking note. We ask visitors what they would like to protect for the generations after them. It is a question GIC asks of itself every day.

The walkthrough takes only about half an hour. But we hope it stays with visitors much longer, and that they leave with a better appreciation of GIC's responsibility to preserve and enhance the value of Singapore's reserves, and of how Singapore and Singaporeans benefit when those reserves are well managed for generations to come.

I have one request of our guests. Please help us spread the word, to family, friends and colleagues, on social media, at the kopitiam, or over the dinner table.