How an 'accidental businesswoman' transformed one of Singapore's oldest companies into a real estate powerhouse

3 weeks ago 11

CNBC Managing Asia's Christine Tan speaks to Straits Trading's Executive Chairman Chew Gek Khim, and finds retired however nether her enactment she transformed 1 of Singapore's oldest companies into a existent property powerhouse.

Chew Gek Khim has been moving Straits Trading since 2008, aft her family's concern company, Tecity Group, took power pursuing a highly nationalist bidding war. 

Since then, she's taken the tin bequest smelting concern founded successful 1887, and transformed it to absorption much connected becoming a large subordinate successful existent property and hospitality.

"My eventual ambition is to physique businesses that are stable, that are sustainable. They springiness returns, and that it constitutes a institution that radical tin spot successful and put in," Chew told Christine Tan connected CNBC's Managing Asia.

The billionaire's concern is presently constructing its astir ambitious task to date: Straits City, an integrated improvement successful the Malaysian authorities of Penang.

It sits crossed the h2o from the fashionable tourer destination, Penang Island.  

"I'm optimistic it's a crippled changer for Penang due to the fact that this full area, which was astatine 1 clip looked astatine arsenic the poorer relative of Penang Island, is present coming up," Chew said.   

"My imaginativeness is for this to beryllium an alternate CBD [central concern district] to the land and it's logical due to the fact that the land is acold excessively congested. It's a UNESCO World Heritage site, which is attractive, but astatine the aforesaid time, that restricts the changes you tin make. Whereas down present it's truly a achromatic site," she added. 

Learn much astir Chew Gek Khim's enactment style, and however she utilized it to alteration 1 of Singapore's oldest companies into a existent property powerhouse successful the video above.

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