Wolf Review(Strictly Business, The Kwek Leng Beng Story by Peh Shing Huei)
Welcome to another book recommendation. When this book was out a couple of months back, I knew I was going to get one. The subject person of today’s reading happens to be the Legendary Chairman, Kwek Leng Beng of City Development Limited.
Strictly Business, The Kwek Leng Beng Story by Peh Shing Huei is probably the only book written about the Chairman and his company. He is well known in the business circles for not giving many interviews or ever had a book written about him before this latest title. After much persuasion from his friends, he thought it might be time to give his thoughts on how he sees his family, friends and business.
If one mentions Kwek Leng Beng, one can’t go on without mentioning his father, Kwek Hong Png, who had a profound role in shaping his business philosophy. His father came from Fujian, China, seeking a better life in Singapore by working for his uncle’s company supplying construction materials. He eventually founded the Hong Leong Group with his brothers doing the same trade. Working under his dad, Leng Beng was pushed to the brink of quitting. Being a deputy to his dad, the junior Kwek had a glimpse at how his dad conducted business dealings intimately. Those tough years working under him have helped sharpen his business acumen. The drive for excellence and his demanding work attitude were inherited from his father which served him well when he took over the Chairmanship after his dad’s passing in 1994.
The Kwek family business empire stretches across real estate, finance, construction materials and hotels. Kwek Leng Beng always had a love for hotels. His first hotel, The Copthorne King’s hotel at Havelock Road, remains his most treasured and he was very emotionally attached to the hotel to the point he wouldn’t consider selling the hotel for any amount although he was much less attached to his other trophy hotels around the world. He was once the proud joint owner of The Plaza in New York with Saudi billionaire investor, Alwaleed. It was sold in 2004 at a record price of $675m. He bought the hotel at a substantial discount from Donald Trump who had fallen on hard time. His Citi bankers were pushing him for a sale to reduce his borrowing. Kwek mentioned he never took a liking of Trump. He represents the opposite of what he believes as a businessman. Trump once did try to prevent the sale of The Plaza by calling the fire department which caused a mayhem for the guests and the management of the hotel. To prevent Trump from causing more trouble, he retained his service as an adviser to The Plaza and kept Citibank as an equity partner due to the bank’s role as Trump’s principal financier, so to have some leverage on his behaviour. Kwek Leng Beng’s success in the hotel sector was due to his foresight and the ability to take calculated risks during crisis. The attention to detail was one of the reason for his enduring success. He would go to his hotels around the world to check the occupancy rate and observe ways to improve his hotels. That strategy works well and propels his company to becoming the UK third largest hotel group.
In the book, Kwek Leng Beng briefly touched on the failed investment in Sincere Property which caused CDL a huge write down of $1.8b. The investment also bought on an open conflict with his family members. It remains one of the biggest blemish of his career. He was unassuming and defiant in his response as a hard-hitting businessman “I am always forward looking, there is no benefit of looking at the past”. CDL will be stronger after the saga without any doubt. After the huge loss in the failed investment, his redemption came from a sale of the iconic Hilton in Seoul for $1.26 billion in 2022, a record for a hotel in Korea. The sale was $960m above book value, help answered some of his critics.
Although most of us can’t be Kwek Leng Beng, for anyone interested going into business, the book offer a window into the mind of one of Singapore’s most successful businessman. His strive for excellency, his demand for punctuality and the way he negotiated a fair deal for all parties involved are the important attributes of a successful business person which everyone can admire and learn. The book goes onto Lone Wolf Investor recommendation list for its easy to read chapters.
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