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Me & My Money Series (Sunday Times)
The Straits Times
Oct 23, 2011
me & my money
Property tycoon has myriad passions
Veteran developer counts art and conservation among his interests
By Joyce Teo
Veteran property developer and art gallery owner Daniel Teo is visibly excited about his recent venture - an arts hub at the former Catholic High School building in Waterloo Street.
He leased the dilapidated building, where he once traipsed as a schoolboy, and spent about $2 million renovating it last year.
'I would like to invite the PM to visit this place,' he says.
The building houses his own space called The Private Museum, which is used to showcase his own collection and those of other private collectors. He hopes more of them will share their art with the public.
Art and conservation are just two of his many passions. The four-time head of the Real Estate Developers' Association of Singapore also wants the public to know more about his alma mater by setting up a Catholic High School, or 'CHS', museum in the building.
And Mr Teo says he is still working on getting the tombstone of his granduncle and local war hero Lim Bo Seng declared a national monument. He plans to create a bust of Lim for the site in MacRitchie Reservoir Park.
His ventures are not always grand ones. His latest, for example, is a hobby farm in Kranji.
Soon, he hopes to build four houses on the old family home site in Katong for his family.
Mr Teo, 68, is the director of Tong Eng Brothers and chairman of the Hong How Group, both family businesses. He also owns the Wetterling Teo Gallery in Kim Yam Road.
His father and uncle started Tong Eng Brothers in 1960 as a steel trading company. It is now an investment holding company cum property developer.
He did his A levels at Coburg High School in Victoria, Australia, followed by a degree in architecture at the University of Melbourne.
His wife is former Singapore Dance Theatre artistic director Goh Soo Khim. They have four children and six grandchildren.
Q: Are you a saver or a spender?
I am more of a saver, as I want to save for a rainy day. About 50 per cent of my yearly income is saved or invested.
When I spend, it is mostly on art and travelling. I would rather put my money into art than spend it on a watch or a fast car. I spend a few hundred thousand dollars on art every year.
Q: How much do you charge to your credit cards every month?
I have a few credit cards, and I charge about $1,500 to $2,000 a month to the cards. I withdraw about $500 to $1,000 from the ATM every fortnight.
Q: What financial planning have you done for yourself?
I have a financial adviser and a few personal bankers to help me invest. About 60 per cent of my portfolio is in property and about 20 per cent to 30 per cent is in art and stamps.
I expect at least a 15 per cent return on my investments.
I have about a million or two invested in listed companies in Singapore, Malaysia and Australia. These include property firms and banks.
Q: Moneywise, what were your growing-up years like?
I am the eldest child. I have five sisters and one brother. My parents were thrifty, but my father would always make sure we had a nice night out on Christmas Day and a nice Chinese New Year dinner.
Some Saturdays, he would take us out shopping. He didn't spoil us. I think it's our Oriental culture to not spoil the kids, but he spoiled my children.
Life was comfortable. We were chauffeured around and had maids. I had a shock when I went to Australia to study and realised I had to do everything by myself.
Q: How did you get interested in investing?
I started investing when I was in university. I read up on it. Whenever I managed to save some of my monthly allowance, I would use it to buy Australian shares like BHP, Rio Tinto, WMC Resources. I am still holding on to most of them.
I joined the family business after I graduated. My first investment upon returning to Singapore was a two-room apartment in Pandan Valley.
I bought it in 1971 for more than $100,000 with a 90 per cent loan, and sold it for more than $200,000 a few years later. It was one of my best investments.
I invest in my interests. I invested in Wetterling Teo Gallery after the Economic Development Board introduced me to Swedish art dealer Bjorn Wetterling.
I bought over his share two years ago. The gallery doesn't bring me money, but my aim is to support the arts. We need to do more for the arts. Society has to progress and the arts are the medicine for the soul.
I used to own an aquarium business in Barcelona, together with the Haw Par Group. I still have a bird farm in Mandai and a vineyard in Cape Town.
Last year, I set up an arts hub at my old school, Catholic High. I've spent about $2 million to renovate the building. I expect a 15 per cent return on my investment. I've also just invested $500,000 in my hobby farm.
I have also been investing in local artwork by artists such as Chua Ek Kay, Jimmy Ong, Goh Beng Kwan. I started doing this 30 years ago, and now have more than 100 pieces.
A year ago, I invested in a racehorse. I own 20 per cent of it. It has won a few races.
Q: What properties do you own?
I own eight properties. These include shophouses in Tiong Bahru and River Valley, and our old 14,000 sq ft family home in Katong.
The first shophouse I bought was in Kim Yam Road. It cost me just over $300,000 some 30 years ago. I renovated it for $400,000.
I haven't invested in property in recent years because prices have gone up so much. As developers, we know the cost, and rental is not that attractive now. I have better use of my funds, in art, stamps and charity work.
Q: What's the most extravagant thing you have bought?
Ten pieces of pop art from artists such as Frank Stella, Roy Lichtenstein and James Rosenquist that cost me about $1.8 million.
Q: What's your retirement plan?
I don't believe in total retirement. I have so many ideas. I want to build a retirement village and conserve heritage buildings.
Q: Home is now...
An 8,000 sq ft house in Bukit Timah. I bought the 12,000 sq ft land on which it sits for more than $1 million more than 10 years ago. I then spent about $2 million to rebuild it from 1996 to 1998.
Q: I am chauffeured in...
A blue BMW 523i and a blue Chrysler sedan.
joyceteo@sph.com.sg
--------------------------------------------------------
WORST AND BEST BETS
Q: What has been your worst investment to date?
I brought in the Australian cast of Jesus Christ Superstar together with a few friends 25 to 30 years ago. It was very tough as we couldn't advertise due to religious sensitivities. We relied only on word of mouth and fliers. I lost a few hundred thousand dollars.
About 10 years ago, I started a fish farm with the National Science and Technology Board (now known as A*Star). We sold sea bass. Our biggest customer was NTUC. But it was the wrong timing and I lost about a quarter of a million.
I also invested in a shipbuilding business with two friends. My father was a founder of Far East Livingstone Shipbuilding, which is now Keppel Offshore Marine. I used to go with him to the shipyard. We built barges and tug boats but had to close it after three to four years in 2003, mainly due to tough competition. I lost about $2 million.
I have at least three good lessons to learn from and maybe, more to come. I just have to laugh about them and learn from them.
Q: And some of your best?
I have made money from investing in properties in prime locations such as Tiong Bahru and Jalan Sultan.
I've made some money from art. I bought 10 limited prints of Roy Lichtenstein about 20 years ago. I sold two for around $150,000 two years ago and got back my capital.
And in 1996, I sold my classical Sarawak stamp collection for $1.6 million. I bought it for about $300,000 in the early 1990s.
Oct 23, 2011
me & my money
Property tycoon has myriad passions
Veteran developer counts art and conservation among his interests
By Joyce Teo
Veteran property developer and art gallery owner Daniel Teo is visibly excited about his recent venture - an arts hub at the former Catholic High School building in Waterloo Street.
He leased the dilapidated building, where he once traipsed as a schoolboy, and spent about $2 million renovating it last year.
'I would like to invite the PM to visit this place,' he says.
The building houses his own space called The Private Museum, which is used to showcase his own collection and those of other private collectors. He hopes more of them will share their art with the public.
Art and conservation are just two of his many passions. The four-time head of the Real Estate Developers' Association of Singapore also wants the public to know more about his alma mater by setting up a Catholic High School, or 'CHS', museum in the building.
And Mr Teo says he is still working on getting the tombstone of his granduncle and local war hero Lim Bo Seng declared a national monument. He plans to create a bust of Lim for the site in MacRitchie Reservoir Park.
His ventures are not always grand ones. His latest, for example, is a hobby farm in Kranji.
Soon, he hopes to build four houses on the old family home site in Katong for his family.
Mr Teo, 68, is the director of Tong Eng Brothers and chairman of the Hong How Group, both family businesses. He also owns the Wetterling Teo Gallery in Kim Yam Road.
His father and uncle started Tong Eng Brothers in 1960 as a steel trading company. It is now an investment holding company cum property developer.
He did his A levels at Coburg High School in Victoria, Australia, followed by a degree in architecture at the University of Melbourne.
His wife is former Singapore Dance Theatre artistic director Goh Soo Khim. They have four children and six grandchildren.
Q: Are you a saver or a spender?
I am more of a saver, as I want to save for a rainy day. About 50 per cent of my yearly income is saved or invested.
When I spend, it is mostly on art and travelling. I would rather put my money into art than spend it on a watch or a fast car. I spend a few hundred thousand dollars on art every year.
Q: How much do you charge to your credit cards every month?
I have a few credit cards, and I charge about $1,500 to $2,000 a month to the cards. I withdraw about $500 to $1,000 from the ATM every fortnight.
Q: What financial planning have you done for yourself?
I have a financial adviser and a few personal bankers to help me invest. About 60 per cent of my portfolio is in property and about 20 per cent to 30 per cent is in art and stamps.
I expect at least a 15 per cent return on my investments.
I have about a million or two invested in listed companies in Singapore, Malaysia and Australia. These include property firms and banks.
Q: Moneywise, what were your growing-up years like?
I am the eldest child. I have five sisters and one brother. My parents were thrifty, but my father would always make sure we had a nice night out on Christmas Day and a nice Chinese New Year dinner.
Some Saturdays, he would take us out shopping. He didn't spoil us. I think it's our Oriental culture to not spoil the kids, but he spoiled my children.
Life was comfortable. We were chauffeured around and had maids. I had a shock when I went to Australia to study and realised I had to do everything by myself.
Q: How did you get interested in investing?
I started investing when I was in university. I read up on it. Whenever I managed to save some of my monthly allowance, I would use it to buy Australian shares like BHP, Rio Tinto, WMC Resources. I am still holding on to most of them.
I joined the family business after I graduated. My first investment upon returning to Singapore was a two-room apartment in Pandan Valley.
I bought it in 1971 for more than $100,000 with a 90 per cent loan, and sold it for more than $200,000 a few years later. It was one of my best investments.
I invest in my interests. I invested in Wetterling Teo Gallery after the Economic Development Board introduced me to Swedish art dealer Bjorn Wetterling.
I bought over his share two years ago. The gallery doesn't bring me money, but my aim is to support the arts. We need to do more for the arts. Society has to progress and the arts are the medicine for the soul.
I used to own an aquarium business in Barcelona, together with the Haw Par Group. I still have a bird farm in Mandai and a vineyard in Cape Town.
Last year, I set up an arts hub at my old school, Catholic High. I've spent about $2 million to renovate the building. I expect a 15 per cent return on my investment. I've also just invested $500,000 in my hobby farm.
I have also been investing in local artwork by artists such as Chua Ek Kay, Jimmy Ong, Goh Beng Kwan. I started doing this 30 years ago, and now have more than 100 pieces.
A year ago, I invested in a racehorse. I own 20 per cent of it. It has won a few races.
Q: What properties do you own?
I own eight properties. These include shophouses in Tiong Bahru and River Valley, and our old 14,000 sq ft family home in Katong.
The first shophouse I bought was in Kim Yam Road. It cost me just over $300,000 some 30 years ago. I renovated it for $400,000.
I haven't invested in property in recent years because prices have gone up so much. As developers, we know the cost, and rental is not that attractive now. I have better use of my funds, in art, stamps and charity work.
Q: What's the most extravagant thing you have bought?
Ten pieces of pop art from artists such as Frank Stella, Roy Lichtenstein and James Rosenquist that cost me about $1.8 million.
Q: What's your retirement plan?
I don't believe in total retirement. I have so many ideas. I want to build a retirement village and conserve heritage buildings.
Q: Home is now...
An 8,000 sq ft house in Bukit Timah. I bought the 12,000 sq ft land on which it sits for more than $1 million more than 10 years ago. I then spent about $2 million to rebuild it from 1996 to 1998.
Q: I am chauffeured in...
A blue BMW 523i and a blue Chrysler sedan.
joyceteo@sph.com.sg
--------------------------------------------------------
WORST AND BEST BETS
Q: What has been your worst investment to date?
I brought in the Australian cast of Jesus Christ Superstar together with a few friends 25 to 30 years ago. It was very tough as we couldn't advertise due to religious sensitivities. We relied only on word of mouth and fliers. I lost a few hundred thousand dollars.
About 10 years ago, I started a fish farm with the National Science and Technology Board (now known as A*Star). We sold sea bass. Our biggest customer was NTUC. But it was the wrong timing and I lost about a quarter of a million.
I also invested in a shipbuilding business with two friends. My father was a founder of Far East Livingstone Shipbuilding, which is now Keppel Offshore Marine. I used to go with him to the shipyard. We built barges and tug boats but had to close it after three to four years in 2003, mainly due to tough competition. I lost about $2 million.
I have at least three good lessons to learn from and maybe, more to come. I just have to laugh about them and learn from them.
Q: And some of your best?
I have made money from investing in properties in prime locations such as Tiong Bahru and Jalan Sultan.
I've made some money from art. I bought 10 limited prints of Roy Lichtenstein about 20 years ago. I sold two for around $150,000 two years ago and got back my capital.
And in 1996, I sold my classical Sarawak stamp collection for $1.6 million. I bought it for about $300,000 in the early 1990s.
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