Chew Gek Khim has been running Straits Trading since 2008, after her family’s investment company, Tecity Group, took control following a highly public bidding war.
Since then, she’s taken the tin legacy smelting business founded in 1887, and transformed it to focus more on becoming a major player in real estate and hospitality.
“My ultimate ambition is to build businesses that are stable, that are sustainable. They give returns, and that it constitutes a company that people can trust in and invest in,” Chew told CNBC’s Christine Tan in the most recent episode of Managing Asia.
The billionaire’s business is currently constructing its most ambitious project to date: Straits City, an integrated development in the Malaysian state of Penang.
It sits across the water from the popular tourist destination, Penang Island.
“I'm optimistic it’s a game changer for Penang because this whole area, which was at one time looked at as the poorer cousin of Penang Island, is now coming up,” Chew said.
“My vision is for this to be an alternative CBD (central business district) to the island and it's logical because the island is far too congested. It's a UNESCO World Heritage site, which is attractive, but at the same time, that restricts the changes you can make. Whereas down here it's really a white site,” she added.
Learn more about Chew Gek Khim’s leadership style, and how she used it to transform one of Singapore’s oldest companies into a real estate powerhouse in the video.
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