As one of the few women in the business when she first joined the port industry, Hai Chi Yuet (Schulich BBA ’78) had a hard time making herself heard. Not any more, wrote the The Business Times (Singapore) on Tuesday, March 8, 2011.

Today, Ms Hai – or Chi, as her colleagues call her – easily draws attention as one of the top-ranking women in the sector. The 56-year-old is chief executive officer of the trustee- manager for Hutchison Port Holdings Trust (HPH Trust), which looks set to raise the biggest sum of money in an initial public offering in Singapore.

When HPH Trust lists this month, Ms Hai will be part of a select group of women leading companies listed in Singapore. Point this out, however, and she responds matter-of-factly. ‘I happen to be a female, yes,’ she says, and laughs.

Of the 20 companies with the highest market capitalisations, only SingTel has a female head – Chua Sock Koong. Other women CEOs of Singapore- listed firms include Hyflux group’s Olivia Lum and SMRT’s Saw Phaik Hwa.

Ms Hai is also the managing director of Yantian International Container Terminals, a deep-water container port in Shenzhen, China, which achieved a throughput of over 10 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) last year. Yantian is one of HPH Trust’s key assets.

Many would be hard- pressed to list more than a handful of women leaders in the sector. Another would be Gloria Choy, chief executive of Asia Container Terminals in Hong Kong.

Ms Hai has been in the port industry for more than 20 years, working her way up in the male-dominated sector.

She joined Hutchison International Limited in 1981 and moved to Hutchison Whampoa’s ports division in 1987.

In 1992, Ms Hai became the director and general manager of Cosco-HIT Terminals (Hong Kong). She went over to Yantian in 2009.

It was difficult for women in the industry to get attention in the early days. ‘You had to say ‘Listen, I’ve got a point to make’. Because men, they really like to express themselves and talk . . . I have to say women’s approach is different,’ she recalls.

‘But now, of course, I don’t have to say anything,’ she quips.

When Ms Hai was in town after news of HPH Trust’s listing broke, people went up to her to congratulate her on the deal.

‘The Singapore community seems to be rather excited,’ she says.

Ms Hai graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from York University in Toronto, Canada.

She also serves on several public bodies. For instance, she is a member of the Election Committee for the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and president of the Shenzhen Ports Association.

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