FORMER IPO king Choo Chee Kong is returning to the investment fray three years after he sold his stake in corporate finance outfit Westcomb Capital, and left corporate life.
Mr Choo, who has handled more than 100 IPOs, is taking on a senior advisory role at home-grown private equity firm CMIA Capital Partners.
He told The Straits Times earlier this week that he wanted to capitalise on his expertise with SMEs and tap opportunities 'in a more structured and more systematic way'.
During his time at DBS Bank, and later as head of Westcomb Capital, he handled the listing of a succession of local SMEs, including DMX Technologies, Apex-Pal and Thomson Medical.
Mr Choo began his career at DBS, where he rose to head its corporate finance unit
before leaving to set up Westcomb Capital, said to have been Singapore's first homegrown boutique corporate finance outfit.
The latest step in the 52-year-old's career will see him work with CMIA in finding and
assessing promising investment opportunities in Singapore's SME sector.
'We will hold their hand, teach them about running a company, and how to grow and
professionalise their businesses and raise successive levels of finance.'
The ultimate sign of their success will come with their listing. 'For many, to go for a
listing - to be able to say that they are the boss of a listed company, that is the apex of their career,' said Mr Choo.
CMIA Capital Partners is little known in Singapore, given that it has invested mostly in China, but it has spearheaded about US$600 million (S$784 million) worth of private equity investments to date.
Only a handful of its investee companies have listed here, the most recent being China Minzhong.
CMIA is now turning its sights on Singapore and has handpicked Mr Choo to expand its operations here.
CMIA's co-founder, Mr Lee Chong Min, said: 'In the last decade, many of us embarked on private equity investments in China. But now US funds back US companies to go into China instead. Why shouldn't we do the same and back our own companies to go to China?'
Mr Lee anticipates launching a fund of at least US$50 million soon.
CMIA will invest the money either by directly taking stakes, or by lending money with
the option to take up shares at a future date, a mezzanine form of financing.
With more and more investors in the region hailing from Europe and the Middle East,Mr Choo thinks that Asia's time has come.
'There is so much emphasis on Asia, with people from Europe coming here. A lot of
people want to set up their base here.'
CMIA and Mr Choo should be a high-powered match in the SME landscape, bringing together funds and decades of expertise.
CMIA Capital Partners ("CMIA") is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Peter Choo Chee Kong as a Senior Advisor. Mr. Peter Choo brings to CMIA a wealth of experience, having more than 20 years experience in investment banking, with a track record of helping over 200 SMEs across the region realize their IPO aspirations.
Since leaving the investment banking business in 2008, where he was Deputy Chairman and CEO of WestComb Financial Group, Mr. Peter Choo has been actively investing in various small and mediumsized businesses. In addition, he has been "rolling-up his sleeves" with his direct involvement in the operations and management of such businesses. In this sense, Mr. Peter Choo has shifted from the conventional investment banking "transactional" role into one that resembles more closely private equity investing.
"We are very pleased to have Peter as our Senior Advisor. He is not only a successful investment banker with a strong SME business network across the region, he is also an entrepreneur in his own right and essentially pioneered Singapore’s boutique investment banking industry", commented Mr. Anson Wang, co-Founder of CMIA Capital Partners.
Over the past year, CMIA has also been actively evaluating investment opportunities in well-managed growth companies in Southeast Asia, with a primary focus in Singapore.
"We believe in a value-added business partnership with good and trustworthy management teams. CMIA looks forward to work actively with these SMEs to maximize their business opportunities and growth potential. CMIA has a strong network of government and business contacts in Southeast Asia, China and the Middle East and can help SMEs to tap business growth opportunities in these emerging markets", commented Mr. Lee Chong Min, Managing Partner of CMIA Capital Partners.
On being asked about the reasons of joining CMIA, Mr. Peter Choo commented, "It has always been my modus operandi to support and partner with reputable and professional "Singapore-bred" companies. I have known the Founders and Managing Partners, Anson and Chong Min for many years and watched both of them build CMIA from a two-man firm in 2003 into a leading private equity firm in Singapore with a full professional team and a strong investment track record. Over the years, I have also been exploring opportunities to work closely with Anson and Chong Min."
ah, thanks, it helps, katob
anyway, does anyone have any opinion or views on current Singapore SME? thanks b4
CMIA capital is based in singapore, rite?
sure la
SMALL and medium-sized enterprises should work together and leverage on each other's strengths to better exploit opportunities in foreign markets.
IE Singapore and Spring Singapore gave that advice yesterday to the SME community here, as optimism improves along with the economic recovery.
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The survey was conducted by DP Information Group (DP Info), which polled 2,341 firms between April and June this year.
Not surprisingly, Asia remains the key region for SMEs, with Malaysia being the top market served by 73 per cent of the companies.
China is the second-most-preferred market, served by 71 per cent of the firms.
Strong overseas competition is still the biggest concern for SMEs doing business outside of Singapore, a worry cited by 50 per cent of the companies.
Other major concerns include the lack of overseas business contacts, knowledge of a foreign market, brand acceptance, manpower, access to external funds and distribution channels.
Because of their smaller size, SMEs typically have to work harder for their market share, but by forming a consortium, they can pool their resources and level up with their bigger rivals, said Ms Azlinda Sulaiman, group director of IE Singapore's Enterprise Services Group.
Ms Chen Yew Nah, managing director of DP Info, said: "Forming a consortium is one of the ways for SMEs to succeed overseas, as such markets are too large. There are many new things to learn and plenty of challenges to face."
That said, SMEs are not rushing to expand aggressively, given how the recent crisis has exposed their vulnerabilities.
Many said they were looking to invest more heavily in staff, training, branding and technology.
The survey found that the key focus of SMEs over the next 12 months is to step up advertising for their brands. About 46 per cent are looking into introducing higher-value-added products and services.
"SMEs are focusing on qualitative improvements to their businesses because they are more positive about the future," said Ms Chen. "Strengthening their internal skills and capacity will help them deal with the increased competition they face at home and abroad."
i'm agree with Shotgun that small and medium enterprises should work together or at least made an organization that help them to get better opportunities in searching for foreign markets.