S'pore wealth manager, 50, paid S$18,000 for dinner with DBS CEO Tan Su Shan, says he was drawn by 'unique' listing

S$18,900 for a dinner with DBS chief executive Tan Su Shan.

It is an incredible amount to behold for the average Singaporean. But it's how much financier Ng Tse Meng, 50, paid to dine with one of Singapore's most powerful women.

A former private banker, Tan became the first woman to head DBS — Southeast Asia's largest bank — in March 2025.

Her surely-elusive company was hence one of the more "unique" lots that caught Ng's eye, when he went through the listings of the National Gallery Singapore's fundraiser auction.

"Stimulating conversation"

Lot 1561 promises "stimulating conversation and exceptional company" in an "elegant and intimate setting".

That, alongside its eye-watering (to me at least) estimated price of S$6,000 to S$8,000, makes it no wonder that it caught Ng's attention.

But it's actually quite a tasteful set-up. It's dinner for six, not two, in the private dining room of the National Gallery Singapore's new restaurant, Gilmore & Damian D’Silva.

And with pre-dinner champagne to boot.

Speaking with Mothership in his Somerset office, Ng says that he had planned to support the fundraiser all along. A self-described "beginner" art collector, he's passionate about the local art community.

A few lots caught his eye — a wine by Domaine de la Romanée Conti (DRC), some pieces by local artists.

But Tan's lot was unique. "I thought it was really fun," he says.

Interestingly, Ng wasn't even in Singapore during the auction. He'd planned to contribute but was travelling in Hong Kong, and was in the middle of a discussion when the online bidding started in earnest.

Distracted by his conflicting commitments, he decided, "Why not bid higher? Since it's for the National Gallery?"

The lot was at S$13,000 then, with the bids increasing at around S$1,000 each time — but he countered with a bold S$18,000.

No-one retaliated. "So I won the bid," he quips. Including the 5 per cent service provider fees, he'd just won himself an S$18,900 meal.

For the art

Ng didn't expect his bid to go viral.

"The price wasn't intentional, I think we went through the bidding process and it just ended up at that price," he says.

It isn't his first time meeting Tan — they've met "casually" before — and neither does he seem particularly concerned about the actual evening.

He did say he gets to invite the remaining three guests (apart from Tan and her husband), and is eager to try the food (he's never dined there before).

But he's at his most animated when he talks about the National Gallery and the local art scene.

Local artists, he explains, need all the support that they can get. Singapore is so small, and it has to be Singaporeans who support their own — not dependent on the government or foreign buyers.

And he does put his money where his mouth is. As he shows us around his office, he points out pieces by local artists, regional artists.

Most of his pieces are from Southeast Asia, he explains.

"The whole intention [of my bid] was to support the National Gallery and the arts community," he says. "We're all playing our part in giving back to society... In bringing our art community to a further elevation.

"I think that's more important, rather than who's having dinner at what prices."

Top image from Khoo Wen-en and ZBBZ Singapore