Retail and property group Metro Holdings acting group CEO Lawrence Chiang has been appointed as group CEO and executive director.

His appointment takes immediate effect, Metro has told the Singapore Exchange.

This moves puts the 63-year-old in overall charge of the Metro group of companies.

Metro Holdings was founded in 1957 by the late Ong Tjoe Kim as a textile store. It has become a property development and investment group with a turnover of S$145.8 million (US$  ) and net assets of S$1.4 billion.

Chiang has been with the group since 1989. He was appointed group GM in 2007 before being redesignated group COO in 2013. Following the death of former MD Jopie Ong, he was appointed acting CEO on February 3.

Ong, 75, died on February 2 after overseeing the retail group for more than four decades.