Four young investors from wealthy Asian families have joined forces to start an investment firm that focuses on the Southeast Asia market.
Rachel Lau, 31, Raja Hamzah Abidin, 29, and Lionel Leong, also 29, founded RHL Ventures in 2016. In February, they added a fourth partner, John Ng Pangilinan, 37, according to a report from
Bloomberg Technology
.
“We look at Southeast Asia and there is no brand that stands out — there is no KKR, there is no Fidelity,'' Lau told Bloomberg. “Eventually we want to be a fund house with multiple products. Venture capital is going to be our first step.''
Lau's father, Lau Boon Ann, built his fortune in real estate and by investing in companies like Top Glove Corp., which became the world's biggest rubber-glove maker.
Abidin is the son of prominent Malaysian politician and businessman Utama Raja Nong Chik, and Lionel Leong, also 29, the son of property tycoon Leong Hoy Kum.
John Ng Pangilinan is the grandson of property tycoon Ng Teng Fong, who built Far East Organisation Pte and Sino Group. The younger Ng has founded a number of ventures, including Makan Bus, a service that introduces tourists to eateries in Singapore.
According to the article, RHL takes an equity stake and a board seat in startups that have been in existence for at least a year, and sees the company through to an initial public offering.
The partners use their family members as advisers. “We recognize that we are young and still learning,'' Lau told Bloomberg. “There is no point pretending otherwise.'' (Source:
Bloomberg
, March 5, 2017.)
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