Peter Lim - New Owner of Valencia

Peter Lim has done Singapore proud.  He is now the owner of Valencia football club.  I know that this is probably already stale news but it is a moment to be savoured nonetheless.  How many Singaporeans do you know that actually own football clubs?

I think it is rather good publicity for Singapore since many Europeans probably do not even know where Singapore is.  And what better way to gain some publicity than to own one of their very own football clubs.

Anyway, Peter Lim had previously made a bid for Liverpool.  That deal did not come to pass so I was thinking that this deal might also not come through.  Glad that it did come through in the end.

For those who don't know Peter Lim, he used to be a stock remisier who made it big in the Singapore stock market.  He married an ex-actress, Cherie Lim.  Believe he also has a daughter, Kim Lim, who is 22 years old and is currently studying in Singapore Institute of Management.  Recall reading in the news that his family stays in an entire 11 storey condominium tower around the Orchard area.

For those who don't know, Peter Lim is also said to be quite active in charity work.  His involvement in the local football scene also saw the SOF-Peter Lim Charity Cup (an exhibition fundraiser match) held in 2013.

Wishing him the very best of success in his ownership of Valencia.

Bill Ng Rangers Bid

Glad to read in the newspaper about a Singaporean, Bill Ng, who made a bid for Rangers football club and is now in the running again to buy the club despite earlier suggestions that he was out of the race. Reminds me of Peter Lim, the billionaire who was also bidding for Liverpool football club sometime back.

Bill Ng apparently does not love football.  He came to the game for the love of his two sons who had to teach him the offside rule.  Not new to purchasing football clubs, Mr Ng had also purchase Hougang United and Tiong Bahru United in 2010 and 2005 respectively.  Both these football clubs are in the S-League (Singapore's version of the English Premier League).

Now that Bill Ng is back in the running to buy the Rangers, let's wish him luck.  May he do Singapore proud.

Manchester United IPO in Singapore

I know this is old news but apparently, Manchester United has gotten approval from the Singapore Stock Exchange to be listed. This was after news that SGX managed to grab this IPO when it was originally headed for the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (?).

Apparently, the Manchester United fan base in the region is one reason why the stock is being listed here. But I truly wonder how much that will really translate into actual fans investing into the club. They are fans alright. They might stay up to watch Manchester United play. They might buy Manchester United jerseys. Some might even travel all the way to Old Trafford to catch a game. But will they really invest in Manchester United as part of their investments?

Passion about a football and support for a club however might not necessarily translate into a investment decision / action. While investors like Peter Lim once tried to buy Liverpool, I wonder whether the interest for Man Utd IPO will really exist among the retail investor. Sure. There is a certain novelty factor of owning part of the club that you love. But will true Man Utd fans really invest in their club?

This I really wonder..

Peter Lim - Almost Liverpool Owner.

So the news is out. Peter Lim withdrew his offer for Liverpool after its owners did not revert back on his better offer than New England Sports Ventures (NESV). And NESV are now the proud new owners of Liverpool which just lost 2-0 to Everton. Liverpool now stands at the 2nd last in the English Premier League and are in the relegation zone. Of course, it is still way to early in the season to tell.

I guess it is really a pity that our very own Singaporean billionaire did not get the chance to be the owner of Liverpool FC. Imagine the limelight it will throw on Singapore. A Singapore owner for one of the top football clubs in Europe and England! What a pity. I guess most people underestimate how such things can actually bring so much other untold benefits to Singapore.

For one, readership of this blog went skyhigh during the news of Peter Lim making an offer to buy Liverpool. My readership for this blog hit record highs for a few days consecutively. Too bad the news has died down almost as fast as it started. And I am sure many Singaporean Liverpool fans are sorely disappointed.

I guess we can only think about all the "what ifs" now.

Perhaps Manchester United next ? =)

Remisier King Peter Lim Offers $750m for Liverpool

Peter Lim had increased his bid for Liverpool to fend off US rivals. Besides offering to clear the debts of Liverpool, he is also willing to give an immediate cash injection of 40 million pounds for the football club to buy new players. His bid is also attractive as it does not require an financing.

This comes amidst a bitter court battle over the sale of Liverpool. The other two bidders are New England Sports Ventures (NESV) and Mill Financial (a US hedge fund).

Mr Lim is the son of a fishmonger and is revered in Singapore financial circles for being an extremely savvy investors. Known as the "remisier king", he amassed a large fortune and had a winning touch in various companies - the biggest being that in Wilmar International which grew from $10 million initial investment to close to $2 billion today.

He however has business relationship with Manchester United and has the sole rights to own, operate and develop a chain of the famous club's restaurants across Asia. Whether he will give up the venture remains unknown.

The fate of offer will however depend on the court battle that is currently being waged between Liverpool's owners and chairman. The Liverpool owners want to stop the sale as they claim the price is too low. If the court rules in favor of the current Liverpool American owners, the club is likely to go into administration and will lose even more points in the Premier League.

Being a savvy investor, Peter Lim certainly must know what he is doing and while English media and fans are wary of the bid, Singaporeans here are cheering that our very own local hero could potentially own one of the biggest sporting clubs in English football history. Others have however questioned whether that money could be invested in the ailing local soccer scene which would benefit in a big way from that amount.

As Andy Ho, president of the local Liverpool supporters' club says: " This will put Singapore on the world football map."

Peter Lim Makes Offer for Liverpool

Former remisier king has made an offer to buy over Liverpool.

Well done! Our very own Singaporean billionaire who can afford to buy over a well-known English football club. I wrote about Peter Lim some time back under this post.

So how will this impact me?

Well, just yesterday, I saw my blog views on this blog jump to over 2000 page views in a single day just on that post alone.

I guess the hype about this new potential owner of Liverpool has got many people Googling his name and landing up on my blog.

Peter Lim

Not too sure where this article originated from. It seems like the New Paper. Found it on one of the forums and pasting it here to share with all. Basically, it is about billionaire Peter Lim (one of Singapore's 40 Richest). The article is as attached below:

WHEN the Singapore stock market took a sharp dive lastweek, it wiped out more than $100million of his stock's value.

But former remisier king Peter Lim did not lose sleep over it.

Why? 'I've been a stock broker for all my life - I've seen all the crashes, financial crisis, where really, it's only a paper loss,' replied the self-made billionaire.

'Just make sure you are not jammed with cash flow.'

Mr Lim was referring to his almost 5 per cent investment in Wilmar International which saw its share price move from a high of $3.78 to a low of $2.89 in the space of a month. The share price last closed at $3.

To him, his wealth is less important than his family and philanthropy. His attitude towards money is almost casual. It reflects his philosophy on investing and wealth.

For those who feel they are badly mauled by the current share doldrums, Mr Lim has this piece of wisdom to share: 'I used to say to my friends, 'When you are holding stocks, if it goes up, don't be too happy; when it goes down, don't be too sad'.

'Otherwise, how? Your life will also be fluctuating and you'll die of a heart attack.

'If you really lose sleep over it, maybe the best way is to keep the money in thebank.'

So what does he lose sleep over?

He replies with a laugh: 'My kids. Like other parents, I worry about what they're doing and whether they'll pass their exams.'

On Thursday, he made his debut in Forbes' latest rankings as Singapore's seventh-richest man, with a reported net worth of US$830m illion.

Mr Lim revealed that he intends to give a large part of his money to society later. How will Singapore benefit?

Through his pet cause: Education.

He made this revelation quite casually, as if he were talking about the weather.

He said: 'I think it's very likely (that) a big part of my wealth will be directed towards education.'

'It will be either a straight donation towards assisting educational institutions or maybe I'll set up a foundation.'

He supports Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's call at the recent National Day Rally for more Singaporeans to make charitable contributions.

Mr Lim echoed PM Lee's views that it is happening all over the world, and especially in the US.

'Asia is a bit behind because generally, when you have money, you think of your sons and your daughters when you die.

'But I think it has changed a lot here, principally because now, the wealth isbigger.'

He was reluctant to reveal his charitable contributions over the years, except to say that much of it was anonymous and that in the early '90s, he was one of the earlier donors to the National Kidney Foundation.

HELPS POOR

His friend, Mr Dennis Foo, chief executive of St James Power Station, later told The New Paper that Mr Lim not only donates money, he also takes it upon himself to deliver food, like rice and cooking oil, to needy families in one-room flats and old folks' homes.

Why education?

Mr Lim said: 'Education must be cheap and accessible to anyone.

'For me, I was the son of a fishmonger, but I could still go to the best school. I had the opportunity to make money. There's no discrimination.

'I think this policy of meritocracy actually works. It's very very fair and nobody cancomplain.'

The New Paper managed to get hold of Mr Lim last Wednesday, after his meetings and before he left for a short trip overseas.

The publicity-shy tycoon was extremely reluctant to talk about his wealth. It didn't help that he again made news recently with his involvement in one of Singapore's largest reverse takeover bids, with his investment vehicle Rowsley buying up a chunk of a China solar power company.

But he agreed after some persuasion. He met us at Brewerkz, which he also has a stake in, at Riverside Point two hours before his flight.

Dressed in a polo T-shirt which has seen better days, a pair of cargo pants and trainers, he certainly didn't seem to wear his wealth on his sleeves.

Why so casual? He replied that he plans to sleep on his flight.

DOESN'T MONITOR
Ironically, Mr Lim, who was one of Singapore's leading stockbrokers and is now a private investor, does not monitor the stock market every day.

He goes through the financial reports of companies; he watches financial news to get a summary of what is happening, but he does not track the daily ups and downs of the stock he owns.

He said: 'I only check in intervals, depending on the company.

'If it's a structured company, then (I check) when the results come out. For the bigger ones, quarterly results; for smaller ones, twice a year. But if it's a start-up, I'll check it more regularly.'

Mr Lim made headlines in the late-'80s as a star remisier, in the mid-'90s in his divorce battle and in early 2000 for his involvement in the first instalment of the Raffles Town Club court saga.

Much of his wealth now comes from a single investment: Palm oil.

In the early '90s, he invested about US$10 million in a start-up Indonesian palm-oil company, Wilmar. Today, his almost-5 per cent stake is worth more than US$700 million.

This is a far cry from his humble beginnings. When he was young, he said, he did not even have his own room in the two-bedroom government flat he shared with 11 others.

He grew up, with three brothers and four sisters, in one of Singapore's oldest public housing estates, Bukit Ho Swee.

His father was a fishmonger and his mother a housewife and the size of the flat was the equivalent of a three-room HDB flat today, hesaid.

He slept in the living room, or wherever he could find space to lay his mattress down for the night.

On his wealth now, he said: 'It's no different from what it was before I had the money. It makes no difference after apoint.

'Like what they say, you can only talk louder. You can only eat so much and fly so many trips.

'Money lets you enjoy a lot of things, but I don't think I'll die without money.

'I don't think I'm eating a lot better than when I was a lot poorer than now. I don't really go for very special kinds of food. I'm still very local. I like my mee siam, mee rebus and lontong.'

When his father died in the late '60s, when Mr Lim was 22 years old.

Mr Lim completed his secondary school education in Raffles Institution and was an officer in National Service.

It was then, at the age of 18, that he bought his first lot of shares.

Did he make a killing?

'In fact, I lost money,' he laughed.

But not much.

'I was only paid $385 a month, so I can't have bought, or lost, very much.'

He then went to Perth to further his studies at the University of Western Australia.

To fund his university education, he said, he worked part-time doing odd jobs as a taxi-driver, cook and waiter.

It was one of these jobs - in the Australian fast-food chain Red Rooster - that opened his eyes to how business was done.

'I watched how they started, how they grew, and how they scaled up.'

It was also in university where he honed his instincts and skills as an investor.

He graduated with a degree in accounting and finance and stepped out into the working world.

'My first job was as an accountant. It lasted three months,' he said with a chuckle.

He did some tax consultancy before he went into stocks, he said.

Mr Lim is in his element when dealing with numbers. 'It's something I'm very comfortable with, something I understand.

'Give me any numbers. I look at (them) and I'm happy. It can be in any industry. You give me the numbers; somehow I can figure it all out.'



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His secret to investing is...

WHAT is Peter Lim's secret to successful investing?

Prospect, he replied.

He looks at sectors.

'Like if I think solar is good, I go into solar; if I think palm oil is good, then palm oil.

'Share prices go up because the sector grows. So if I think this sector is going to be good in the next 10 years, then I'll just invest in it.'

Another key reason for his success, he said, is patience.

Mr Lim, who also acts as a consultant to companies and helps them find multi-million-dollar investors, does not subscribe to buying one day and selling the next to cash in.

His advice to young investors: 'You have to invest with a longer-term mindset. You buy a good stock, leave it there for 10 years. Come 10 years, this dollar can be many, many multiples.

'I think the trick is really to think long-term.

' You may not have a lot of money, but you have a lot of time.'

'The minimum length of my investments are five to six years, if not 10 to 12 years.'

He cites the example of his condominium.

He owns an entire 11-storey block at prestigious Ardmore Park, near Orchard Road. He and his wife, with his 85-year-old mother, live in one apartment, while three other maisonettes and the penthouse sits empty.

'I bought it in 1994 for $13m and I just hold there and wait. With the current property market, it is worth more than $100m.'

Same with Wilmar, which he invested in in the early '90s. It was then a US$10m investment. Now, his stake is worth some US$700m.

Read Other Things About Peter Lim:
1. Peter Lim - New Owner of Valencia
2. Peter Lim offers $750mil for Liverpool

Read Related Articles:
1. Singapore's 40 Richest
2. Key Lessons from Rich Dad, Poor Dad
3. Donald Trump Lessons
4. David Bach Automatic Millionaire

5. Peter Lim's ex son-in-law

And for those supporters of Valencia football club, maybe a scarf will be nice?