Hougang United chairman Bill Ng has emerged as one of the key figures behind the Singapore bid to take over Rangers. He is a director at private equity firm Financial Frontiers and has been a Rangers fan for more than a decade. He took over Hougang United two years ago.
Hougang United chairman Bill Ng has emerged as one of the key figures behind the Singapore bid to take over Rangers. He is a director at private equity firm Financial Frontiers and has been a Rangers fan for more than a decade. He took over Hougang United two years ago.
Explaining his thinking, he said: ‘This is a chance to put Singapore on the world football map. We’re not just doing this for financial reasons, we’ve got plans that will positively impact Singapore football in the long run.’ Whether this will involve loaning out fringe Rangers players to Singapore was not stated.
However, Rangers is seen as offering a more realistic option than a Premiership side. Ng noted, ‘Our population size is quite similar to Scotland so there’s plenty for us to learn from them in terms of football development.’
The Singapore consortium has set aside £12m to be paid to creditors which means that they would receive 20p in the pound. This is more than is paid out in many football administrations, although it might not satisfy Revenue and Customs.
If the Singapore bid succeeds they will appoint a board made up largely of Scottish businessmen who support the club to run it on a day-to-day basis.
Singapore businessman Peter Lim made a £320m bid to buy Liverpool in 2010, but lost out to New England Sports Ventures.