VINGROUP JOINT
STOCK CO.
VIETNAM
This Hanoi conglomerate was
started by Pham Nhat Vuong,
the wealthiest Vietnamese and
the country’s first billionaire. He
made his first fortune when he
sold his instant noodle busi-
ness to Nestlé in 2010. He then
started Vincom, a developer
of high-end townships, and
Vinpearl, which builds luxury
resorts and hotels. They merged
to form Vingroup in 2012. A
year ago Vingroup launched
Vinfast, an automaker aiming to
produce up to 500,000 vehicles
annually by 2025. Last month it
announced plans to build a tech
hub in Hanoi to expand into ar-
tificial intelligence and big data
and employ 100,000 technol-
ogy students within ten years.
Last year the company saw a 90.1% jump drug and cosmetics stores around the
TVS MOTOR in net income thanks to the government’s country. Started in 2008, the company
INDIA growing eforts to promote high-tech primarily sells over-the-counter products,
he 39-year-old Chennai company is industries. which produced a 39.7% proit margin last
India’s last moped maker and also makes year. It also ofers counseling services and
scooters, motorcycles and three-wheelers. WELCIA HOLDINGS long-term at-home eldercare. Many Wel-
It runs four manufacturing sites—includ- JAPAN cia drugstores stay open until midnight or
ing one in Indonesia—and saw revenue his Tokyo-based retailer operates 1,747 24 hours.
climb 36% and net proit surge 33%, to
$101 million, in its last iscal year. In
WAITING IN THE WINGS
December it took a stake in Bangalore
THESE RISING STARS ARE PRIMED TO CRACK THE FAB 50 IN THE YEARS AHEAD.
electric vehicle startup Ultraviolette
Automotive. COMPANY COUNTRY BUSINESS
AUSTRALIA
UNISPLENDOUR ARISTOCRAT LEISURE BETTING MACHINES
BEIJING ORIGIN WATER TECHNOLOGY CHINA ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES
CHINA
HONG
CRYSTAL INTERNATIONAL GROUPAPPAREL PRODUCTIO N KONG
Founded in 1999 in Beijing, this company
T
E
EXIDE INDUSTRIES INDUSTRIAL BAT INDIARIES
provides information technology services.
GLOBAL TOP E-COMMERCEWEAR & CHINAAPPAREL
OT
F
O
It traces its roots to the city’s Tsinghua
HOA PHAT IRON GROUP & STEEL VIETNAM
University, and its former chairman, Vic- JUNEYAO AIRLINES AIRLINES CHINA
tor Zhao, is a Tsinghua alumnus and now KUSURI NO FOOD AOKI & DRUG JAPAN STORES
a billionaire. Hailing from a village in SQUARE ENIX HOLDINGSER GAMES JAPAN
P
T
U
CO
M
Xinjiang Province, Zhao worked his way SUNWODA CHINA INDUSTRIAL BATTERIES
through college by helping friends write VIETJET AVIATION AIRLINES VIETNAM
sotware and ixing their television sets. ZTO EXPRESS AIR FREIGHT CHINA
GEORGES LIS/AGEFOTOSTOCK/NEWSCOM
SEPTEMBER 2018 FORBES ASIA | 49
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FORBES ASIA
ESPORTS
A Really Big Score
Andy Dinh made his bones as the Derek Jeter of esports. Now the
26-year-old gaming legend owns one of the world’s most successful teams.
But can he continue to dominate as billionaire moguls enter the arena?
BY MATT PEREZ
housands of screaming fans packed the stands and Soccer ($644 million in 2016). ESPN has been broadcasting esports
oor space at Boston’s TD Garden in September 2017— for several years, and last year’s League of Legends World Cham-
to watch a video game championship. At Center Court pionship inal had an online viewership of 57.6 million—about
Twas an elevated stage with ten computers running the half of last year’s Super Bowl TV audience. Major brands are also
competitive game League of Legends. Four massive screens were spending millions to get in front of this young and rabid male au-
mounted above to display the action. When confetti inally rained dience. Video gaming might even be an Olympic sport someday
down on the crowd, the threepeating champs jumped around be- soon. League of Legends has already taken the irst step, appearing
tween smoke machines as a familiar chant broke out—“T-S-M! as a demonstration event at the 2018 Asian Games.
T-S-M! T-S-M!”—much like Alabama fans cheer “S-E-C! S-E-C! he concept of revenue sharing, particularly of broadcast in-
S-E-C!” in Tuscaloosa. come, among teams—common in traditional sports leagues—is
TSM—short for Team SoloMid—is one of the most recognizable still in its infancy in esports, so sponsorships dominate the space.
brands in esports, and its victory in Boston built on its success as the he Amsterdam-based market researcher Newzoo estimates
winningest North American team in League of Legends, competitive that 40% of overall revenue this year will come from sponsor-
gaming’s top title. But its founder, CEO and owner, Andy Dinh, who ship deals. Some brands partner with the league and tournament
emerged from the sidelines to hug his players onstage, had only one organizers, while others invest on the team side. TSM features
thought ater the team’s sixth championship: What’s next? Geico and Gillette on its jersey, creates “Team Soda Mid” com-
“I want TSM to be a household brand; I want us to be the Dal- mercials with Dr Pepper and uses Logitech keyboards and mice
las Cowboys and the Yankees,” says the perpetually kinetic 26-year- during competitions.
old, who was featured on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list in 2017. “It’s not he paucity of reliable ROI metrics have led advertisers to look
enough for me just to be successful in North America.” at social media and streaming to help make decisions about where
Esport companies like TSM ield competitive teams in video to spend. TSM and its players have 60 million followers across vari-
games that are as fun to watch—whether live in a stadium or on- ous social networks. Forbes estimates that TSM had revenue of $21
line on a game-streaming service like Amazon’s Twitch—as they million for 2017, on the high end for an esports company.
are to play. he basic premise of League of Legends has two teams Despite all this success, Dinh admits TSM could better take ad-
of ive at opposite ends of an intricate map trying to destroy each vantage of new opportunities in the rapidly evolving market. he
other’s bases. hroughout a match, typically 30 to 40 minutes, next big opportunity may be the 2017 video game Fortnite, a bil-
players kill monsters (and, of course, opposing players) to earn lion-dollar sensation that 125 million play around the world, in-
gold and “experience” to buy new upgrades and become stronger cluding celebrities such as Drake and Chance the Rapper as well as
than their opponent. pro gamers who stream their matches online to tens of thousands
Billionaire owners of professional sports teams such as Rob- of viewers every day.
ert Krat (of the New England Patriots) and Jerry Jones (Dallas Fortnite is like a mix of he Hunger Games, Minecra and Lord of
Cowboys) are among the most signiicant new owners in esports. the Flies: 100 players drop down on an island and battle it out until
Because they own (or operate) venues where esports competi- only one player or team is let standing.
tions can be held, these moguls have a front-row seat to the indus- One superstar gamer, 19-year-old Ali “Myth” Kabbani, was
try’s explosive growth, and they are spending millions in hopes of signed by TSM early this year as the team’s Fortnite stud. he sign-
building franchises as big as TSM. ing soon led to a $1.5 million investment by TSM: he team now
Worldwide, the esports industry is projected to reap nearly $1 leases a 4,300-square-foot house for its roster of four to live, prac-
billion in revenue this year and is building an ever-growing global tice and stream for hours a day. he seven-igure bet is already pay-
viewership. hat’s nothing compared with NFL football ($13.2 bil- ing of. Kabbani has become the second-biggest star on Twitch, with
lion in 2016), but it is rivaling second-tier sports like Major League 4.1 million followers, driving new fans to the TSM brand. hat ever-
52 | FORBES ASIA SEPTEMBER 2018
Trophy life: TSM founder Andy
Dinh with the 2017 League
of Legends North American
championship hardware. He used
to give $20-an-hour gaming
lessons to Steve Arhancet, now
co-CEO of rival Team Liquid.
growing audience helped bring about a new sponsorship from Chi- to focus on his business, which still includes gaming sites.
potle, which sees TSM as a means to intersect with pop culture. Five years later, he remains hungry, taking aggressive new steps
hough it’s undeniably a blockbuster game, there are still in the industry he helped pioneer. In July he received $37 million
questions about Fortnite’s potential as an esport. And while the in Series A funding from a group of investors that included the
game’s creator, Epic Games, is ofering $100 million for prize A-list venture capital irm Bessemer Ventures Partners, the Hall
pools across a year of tournaments, it’s unclear how these com- of Fame NFL quarterback Steve Young and the three-time NBA
petitions will be structured or even broadcast. But TSM and champion Steph Curry. “It only made sense to go with the best
Dinh are used to leaps of faith. of the best,” says Curry, who plans to use his cachet to help TSM
From a working-class family of nine in Campbell, California reach even more young men.
(his parents immigrants from Vietnam), Dinh was a perennial With the new capital, Dinh plans to double staf to 100 and use
C student in high school but found his calling ater discovering up to $15 million to build a 25,000-square-foot training facility and
League of Legends in 2008, when he was 16. Playing under the operational headquarters in Los Angeles next year. he new head-
name Reginald, he soon became the top-ranked player in the world quarters will generate revenue through sponsorships and fan events
and started his own team in 2009. He and his brother Dan decided and serve as a base where players can train, in uencers can create
to create community websites and author guides for the game. content and TSM can develop as a household name for a new gen-
Long before ESPN and Amazon thought to broadcast League of eration—and much of this is well under way.
Legends competitions, Dinh was hosting and streaming them. At TSM’s Fortnite game house, Myth Kabbani recalls watching
Soon ater, Dinh dropped out of college and borrowed $5,000 TSM play when he was in middle school and realizing esports was
from his mother to invest in his vision. His gaming-guide site, a realistic career goal. When the organization reached out to talk
solomid.net—named ater his position in League of Legends— about a partnership, he says, his heart started to beat out of his chest:
attracted millions of visitors, which meant Dinh was pocketing “Joining TSM is less like joining an organization and more like ight-
ing crime with your favorite superhero.” F
ETHAN PINES FOR FORBES around $60,000 a month. In 2013 Dinh, then 21, retired as a player
SEPTEMBER 2018 FORBES ASIA | 53
FORBES ASIA
BEST UNDER A BILLION — BLS
Faster Tracks
Aggarwal son builds a global challenger on dad’s
frustration with lengthy visa queues.
BY ANURADHA RAGHUNATHAN
hen Shikhar Ag- joined, BLS has nearly doubled revenues
garwal joined his to $122 million and broadened its reach
New Delhi fam- to operate in 62 countries. In addition to
ily business in India, it now works with 36 other client
W2014—providing governments. Proits at the company—
visa, passport and consular services—he which debuted on Forbes Asia’s Best
was eager to crack new territories. he Under A Billion list this year—have
Indian government and its embassies jumped more than fourfold to $15 mil-
abroad made up the bulk of revenues at lion from iscal 2014 to iscal 2018.
BLS International—with small outsourc- “We are a lean, fast-growing and
ing contracts from Portugal, Greece and cost-eicient company that’s hungry for
Hungary. “We needed to explore new new business,” he says. Mumbai research
clients and projects,” says Aggarwal, who irm HDFC Securities projects a 15%
came on board as a joint managing direc- compounded growth rate for revenues
tor when he was just 23. and 21% for proits over the next two
He was pursuing an accounting years. (he irm is a lender to BLS.)
career and doing an Indian internship at Aggarwal, now 27, is looking beyond
Grant hornton when he decided to veer the niche visa-processing industry by
toward the family business. He set in mo- ofering government services ranging
tion a series of changes at the company from issuance of birth, death or marriage
that was founded in 2005 by his father— certiicates to providing citizen, identity
overhauling the technology for captur- and voter cards.
ing biometrics like ingerprints and iris He’s also providing conveniences
scans; reducing the processing time for like mobile biometric services targeted
documents; and revamping the website at wealthy individuals, the aged or the
The young
and call centers. He roped in employees physically challenged. Applicants don’t and the restless:
from diferent nationalities to bid for have to travel to a visa center and waste 27-year-old
projects in new geographies. an entire day standing in queues. he Shikhar Aggarwal.
In the four years since Aggarwal visa service comes to them—at an extra
54 | FORBES ASIA SEPTEMBER 2018
ABHISHEK BALI FOR FORBES
SEPTEMBER 2018 FORBES ASIA | 55
FORBES ASIA
BEST UNDER A BILLION — BLS
cost. his is targeted at large groups of work. “Sometimes the tender oated China. VFS Global pioneered the indus-
employees, students, sports players and by a foreign government will be a small try in 2001—in India, where it got its irst
performance groups. “We want to be the ad in a local newspaper in the regional contract from the U.S. government.
world’s biggest player in the visa-out- language,” says Aggarwal, who has trav- It was BLS founder Diwakar Aggar-
sourcing industry” says Aggarwal. eled to 25 countries in the last three years wal’s experience with endless lines when
hat’s an ambitious target: he sector to meet with diplomats and work with going for his own visas that got him into
leader is Dubai’s VFS Global—part of consulates. the business, signing the Portuguese
Swedish private equity group EQT. With BLS is prequaliied for several upcom- embassy as his irst client. he privately
a presence in 139 countries, VFS had ing global tenders and will be bidding held BLS Group, now at $1.2 billion in
half the market and revenues of $459 extensively. It regularly hosts client gov- revenues, is mostly in education and
million in 2017. But BLS has scored ernments to show its processing centers. polymer manufacturing. It’s run by
signiicantly in recent months. In May “Clients can look at what’s happening in Diwakar and his three older brothers, all
it reported a $140 million contract from real time in our centers,” Aggarwal says. of whom live in the same Delhi bungalow
the U.K. government, under which it’ll “hey can do mystery audits. We send along with their families, straddling three
be supporting a French irm to enable them a list of customer complaints and generations.
visa renewals. And in December 2016 it show them how we tackle them.” BLS processed 10,000 visa applica-
won a $200 million, ive-year contract tions in 2005. hat’s surged to 11 million
from the Spanish government for setting TOURIST BOOM visas and citizen service applications in
up visa processing centers across the iscal 2018. Shikhar Aggarwal believes
world. “hey need to have regular wins 2.09 billion agility is the key. For instance, in Moscow
like this to keep the momentum going,” the company had to expand its Spanish
says Ankit Kedia, research analyst at Expected international tourist arrivals service center from 12,000 square feet
Mumbai’s Centrum Broking. “But they in 2028, up from 1.39 billion in 2018. to 20,000 square feet because volumes
also have the challenge of maintaining surged on new popularity for holidays
the cost structure while maintaining the 11.7% and it started handling 500,000 applica-
quality.” tions a year. Meanwhile, in Yemen, it had
BLS has to contend with inancial Travel industry’s estimated portion to shut down a center when war broke
risks too because of the heavy depen- of global GDP in 2028. out in 2015. “We are very exible,” says
dence on ickle governments. For in- Aggarwal. “In this business, requirements
stance, its $220 million, ive-year e-gover- 30% keep changing, and we are willing to
nance contract in 2016 with the northern change based on what the client wants.”
The Asia-Pacific region’s expected
Indian state of Punjab was canceled in But it’s a people-heavy business. BLS
portion of tourist arrivals by 2030.
2018 because of inancial stress for the employs nearly 9,000 people across the
government and the lower-than-expected SOURCES: UNWTO; WORLD TRAVEL & TOURISM COUNCIL. globe to handle the operations. he em-
volume. No deiciency in service was ployees in each location collect, process
reported for the termination. As it expands, BLS is focused on and dispatch documents. here’s a lot of
he Punjab government oated a new China as a key market. “Outsourcing training and retraining that’s required
tender, and BLS has won this contract, hasn’t happened much in China, but it to keep them updated on the latest law
too. But it will operate with fewer centers, is a huge travel market,” says Aggarwal, changes.
and the Punjab government still owes who’s building a team there. he com- BLS also has to tweak its services to
BLS $31 million on the earlier deal. (he pany has 18 Chinese oices—3 for Indian suit diferent cultures—providing sepa-
company expects to be paid this iscal visas and the rest for Spain. rate counters for women for biometric
year.) A plus is that the state will now BLS’ growth is expected to be sup- recording in Saudi Arabia, ofering more
provide the computer gear as well as the ported by the spurt in global travel as premium lounges in the Middle East or
premises for providing the services. “We well as the rising trend of visa outsourc- assisting with illing forms when there’s a
are positive on the new contract,” says ing by governments. Globally only a third language barrier.
Amit Chandra, research analyst at HDFC of the visa work is currently outsourced. Aggarwal recognizes the stif and so-
Securities. “In this model they’ll collect his is projected to grow as governments phisticated global competition. He’s set-
money directly from the citizens and give oload more of the nonjudgmental ting up an accelerator division to acquire
the government its cut. he new model is processing. startups with new technologies to help in
better, asset-light in nature and similar to BLS is now among the top ive inter- visa processing and e-governance.
the visa model.” national players, competing not only with “We are the underdogs,” he accedes.
Aggarwal has teams in Europe, the VFS Global but also France’s TLScontact, “We want to be the underdogs until we
Middle East and Asia scouting for new CSC of the U.S. and China’s Bank of become a $10 billion company.” F
56 | FORBES ASIA SEPTEMBER 2018
FORBES ASIA
FROM THE VAULT
One of a Kind: Oct. 15, 1965
BY ABRAM BROWN
ONE DAY IN June 1957, the president of a
small company arrived at Forbes’ Manhattan
oice and gave a presentation about his busi-
ness to a group of editors assembled in the
boardroom. he bespectacled executive made
a charming impression—appearing “sincere,
enthusiastic . . . extremely articulate”—but his
irm seemed too small (just $24 million in rev-
enue, about $214 million today) and not well
enough established to warrant a story in Forbes.
he man was Joseph C. Wilson, who had
taken over his grandfather’s Haloid Corp. a
decade prior. About three years ater his Forbes
meeting, Wilson changed the workplace forever,
introducing the irst plain-paper automatic oice
copier, the Xerox 914. he machine weighed 648
pounds, could make 100,000 copies a month and
cost $95 a month (roughly $800 today) to rent.
By 1965 the company, now called Xerox, had
revenue of $400 million ($3.2 billion), and Wil-
son wasn’t just in Forbes but on the cover. “Few
companies have ever generated the momentum
we have,” he said. “We can’t let it go.”
Over the ensuing decade, Xerox would fol-
low up with additional innovations, developing
one of the earliest personal computers, the Alto,
as well as pioneering laser printing and Ethernet.
SIGN OF THE TIMES
Mega Bus
Over a decade, Greyhound Corp.’s sales had risen more than
50% to $348 million, some $2.8 billion today. “The real reason for
Greyhound’s boom is the vast Interstate Highway program,” the
41,000-mile network across America that President Eisenhower
modeled on Germany’s autobahn. Twenty percent of Greyhound
trips used interstate highways in 1965, up from 5% a decade earlier.
HULTON ARCHIVE/GETTY IMAGES; GRANGER; XEROX NEWSWORTHY AND NOTABLE AMAZING ADS
Love Me Dough
“It’s ridiculous. Those devils hit the jackpot
every time,” said John E. Wall, president of
EMI, the British music publisher. He was talking
about the Beatles, who had sold 145 million
Moonshot Inc.
albums for EMI in under three years. EMI revenue
Douglas Aircraft, today a part
surpassed $280 million—roughly $2.2 billion
of Boeing, supplied several
in 2018 dollars—making it the largest record
crucial components of the
business in the world. That prompted a waggish
Saturn rockets, which would
Forbes to ask, “Who says the British can’t
propel man to the lunar
compete in world markets?”
surface four years later.
SEPTEMBER 2018 FORBES ASIA | 57
1 JAPAN SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION
JAPAN
OPEN UNIVERSITIES: THE INTERNATIONALIZATION
OF JAPANESE EDUCATION
Part of the Japanese government’s overarching Q ”Students, faculties and
strategy to open up to a more globalized world is institutions as a whole have
the internationalization of Japan’s universities, achieved great steps toward
which are welcoming more international students, internationalization.”
sending more Japanese students abroad and YOSHIMASA HAYASHI,
offering more classes in English. Minister of Education
Traditionally a closed society, Japan ter of Education, Culture, Sports, The university president also
has been making efforts to open up Science and Technology. wants to increase the number of
to the world with “globalization,” “To complement the achieve- international students coming to
“internationalization” and “going ments of the Top Global Univer- HNIU, particularly students from
global” becoming buzz words in sity Project and to foster the next such as science and advanced tech- Asia, offering intensive Japanese
recent years, both in the business generation of students, we have nologies,” says Sakuji Yoshimura, language courses, a variety of
and education spheres. transformed our entrance examina- president of Higashi Nippon Inter- innovative programs and the op-
In 2014, the Ministry of Educa- tion. These two reforms combined national University (HNIU). portunity to discover the unique
tion launched the Top Global Uni- will drive Japanese higher educa- Located in the city of Iwaki, beauty and culture of the Fuku-
versity Project, which aims to help tion toward achieving the highest Fukushima, HNIU is made of up of shima region.
selected universities comprehen- international standards. two faculties: the Faculty of Eco- “Today, international students
sively internationalize their edu- “We have also implemented nomics and Management and the make up 15% of students in our
cational programs and campuses. many measures to welcome both Faculty of Health and Welfare. In university and we hope to reach
Since the launch of the initiative, students and teachers to Japan. line with the goals of the Top Global 30%. We have noticed an in-
there has been a significant in- Furthermore, we are advancing the University Project, it plans to offer crease in Thai students, Nepalese
crease in the number of courses start of foreign language education more English languages classes and students, Vietnamese students and
offered in English, the number of from fifth grade to third grade. By lectures in English to its Japanese also students from Myanmar. Our
Japanese students studying abroad, 2020, initiation to foreign language students, and encourage them to intensive Japanese course will help
and the number of international activity will be set to begin in third study abroad. them to understand Japanese cul-
students coming to Japan. grade, and foreign language will The university has several part- ture and to live together with local
“The numbers don’t lie. This re- become a subject of its own, with nerships with universities in Chi- people,” says Yoshimura.
form has been a major success. Stu- evaluations, credits and scores, in na, South Korea, the U.S. and the He says that Japan is seen as a
dents, faculties and institutions as a fifth grade.” U.K, and is “very much looking “closed” country, but that is some-
whole have achieved great steps to- Ninety percent of international forward to increasing the number thing HNIU and other universities
ward internationalization. Through students in Japan originate from of students studying abroad and are trying to change through nu-
international exchanges we have Asia, where Japan is regarded by extending partnerships all over Asia merous reforms.
created a truly multicultural envi- many as the most reputable desti- and Africa. We want to send more “I believe that attracting interna-
ronment, and our alumni have ac- nation for higher education, learn- Japanese students abroad so that tional students to Japan is one of
quired the international communi- ing and advanced research. they can ‘internationalize’ their the solutions to the country’s de-
cation skills they once lacked,” says “Our education system is one of thoughts by expanding their way mographic problem (characterized
Yoshimasa Hayashi, Japan’s Minis- the best in Asia, particularly in fields of thinking,” says Yoshimura. by an aging and shrinking popula-
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JAPAN 2
tion). We would like to see an ‘Asian we will have to internationalize
Union’ like a European Union. Our ourselves in the future. One of the
successes and failures depend on easiest ways to do so is to invite
one another; we need to exchange students from all around the world
knowledge, experience, fresh minds to come study in Japan,” he says.
and visions,” Yoshimura says. An international mindset and un-
The Kake Group controls a derstanding of different cultures is
number of Kake Educational Insti- critical to the hospitality and ser-
tutions, which consists of private vice industry. The Bunri University
universities, high schools, elemen- of Hospitality in Sayama, Saitama
tary schools and vocational schools tries to teach its students the best
throughout Japan. Being active in of both Western practices and the
every tier of the Japanese educa- Japanese concept of hospitality,
tional system has allowed Kake to Q ”Japan is facing Q ”Our education known as omotenashi.
instill an international mindset at demographic issues and we system is one of the “To get the high quality of hos-
an early age. At the Hiroshima Kake will have to internationalize pitality that brings omotenashi and
Educational Institution, the group best in Asia, particularly the Western style together, you need
started an English immersion pro- ourselves in the future. in fields such as people who can not only apply the
gram at the elementary school 11 One of the easiest ways to science and advanced skills and techniques, but innovate
years ago. do so is to invite students technologies.” and think of new things,” says for-
Today, Kake has about 100 from all around the world to mer Bunri president, Koen Tokuda.
partnerships with schools from all come study in Japan.” SAKUJI YOSHIMURA, “Bunri revolves around four C’s:
around the world, giving students President, Higashi creativity, critical thinking, com-
an opportunity to study abroad at MAMORU KAKE, Nippon International munication and collaboration. And
an earlier stage than university age. Vice Chairman, University when it comes to personal charac-
“We feel this gives our students Kake Group ter qualities—curiosity and open-
the opportunity to broaden their mindedness—are also things we try
minds on a global level,” says Vice Kake’s universities also welcome and more international students,” to develop here at the university,”
Chairman Mamoru Kake. a number of international students says Kake. he says.
“Japan has a reputation of being every year, offering a one-year in- Kake boasts one of the highest The university also welcomes a
quite isolated. I personally believe it is tensive course in Japanese language graduate employment rates among large number of international Asian
caused by the language barrier, so it is and culture, which is recognized by universities in Japan, thanks to its students, who can take the valu-
essential for our students to become the Japanese Ministry of Education. partnerships and contacts with able service skills and knowledge
luent in English. With the English lan- “So, if companies are interested in companies in the private sector as acquired at Bunri and apply them
guage, we give our students the tools establishing ties with Japan, they well as its excellent career guidance in their home countries. “We’re also
to communicate,” he says. could send some of their employees services, such as its career center. working on changing our curricu-
With faculty and staff coming to Japan for a year to study Japanese “This service is not limited to lum. We want to offer an omote-
from China, Korea, the Democratic and those employees could go back Japanese nationals, as our inter- nashi course in English to reach
Republic of Congo, the U.S., the to their companies and be the bridge national students also benefit from non-Japanese speaking students,”
Philippines, among others, Kake is or liaison with Japan,” he adds. our career center. Our overseas li- adds Tokuda.
a truly international institution. Like HNIU, the Kake Group hopes aison officers help them to find a Japanese universities and educa-
“We want our students to expe- to increase that number by offer- job in their home country, so they tional institutions across the country
rience different types of teaching, ing more courses and lectures in are completely prepared when they are making efforts to internation-
to hear different opinions and to English. “We are in the process of graduate from our universities,” ex- alize. And these efforts will be
broaden their perspective. Out of internationalizing our organization, plains Kake. felt throughout Japanese society,
50 faculty members, 21 are non- but one of the main issues is still the Taking a similar view to HNIU’s business and the economy as the
Japanese. We are very proud of English language. We need to offer president, he recognizes “Japan nation looks to open up to a more
this,” says Kake. courses in English to attract more is facing demographic issues and globalized world.
DISCOVER THE BEAUTY
OF JAPAN THROUGH
HIGASHI NIPPON
INTERNATIONAL
UNIVERSITY
We are Higashi Nippon International University, a private university located in the city of Iwaki, Fukushima,
www.shk-ac.jp/eng
Japan. We offer various courses such as Sports Management, economics and even Egyptology!
3 JAPAN SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION
FOSTERING THE LEADERS OF INDUSTRY 4.0
Japan wants to be at the forefront of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and key to its aspirations are the nation’s
universities, which are training a new generation of engineers that will drive the industry of tomorrow.
With the emergence of technolo- ate key technologies in the eld of
gies such as robotics, arti cial intel- ICT,” says AU president, Ryuichi
ligence and the Internet of Things, Oka.
the world is witnessing the dawn of “Since its establishment, the uni-
a new era hailed as the Fourth In- versity has continuously focused
dustrial Revolution (or Industry 4.0). on AI, robotics, big data analysis
Simultaneously, Japan is undergo- and other related elds. Therefore,
ing a period of economic revitaliza- our university is at the forefront of
tion that is underpinned by technol- many promising elds of research
ogy and innovation. and other developments that will
Consumer electronics and au- undeniably shape our future.”
tomobile industries played a major
role in turning Japan into a global Q “Japan is at the forefront
economic powerhouse in the 1970s of Industry 4.0. We are making
and 80s, before the onset of what breakthrough advances in
is known as the “lost decade.” But smart technologies, such
The Land of the Rising Sun is ready automation, robotics … introduc- to computer science engineering as AI and IoT. Consequently,
to rise again, leveraging on its tech- ing these kinds of ideas and tech- in Japan. UA’s Research Center for
nology pedigree to put itself at the nologies into society requires social Advanced Information Science and local universities have to be
forefront of the Fourth Industrial stability and acceptance. With our Technology (CAIST) specializes in focused on teaching up-to-date
Revolution. aging population and our shrinking ve emphasized elds of research, and practical skills in order to
Indeed, the nation’s universities labor force, the innovative tech- or “clusters”: robots, space science, create a capable workforce.”
will be crucial to this pursuit. Many nologies of Society 5.0 come as a biomedical engineering, cloud, and
are carrying out groundbreaking perfect match.” high-performance computing. YOSHIMASA HAYASHI,
research in robotics AI and adopt- “By combining all of these ad- At the Aizu Research Cluster for Minister of Education
ing new skills-intensive programs vantages, Japan will become the Robots (ARC-Robot), UA says it will
to foster the future leaders of In- solution number one country. And apply its information communica- One of the key perks that UA can
dustry 4.0. this time, we will be the ones with tion technologies to robotics in or- offer its students is the opportunity
“Japan is at the forefront of a head start. Therefore, I want to der to take robots to the next stage, to travel to another hive of innova-
Industry 4.0. We are making invite international students and as well as creating a new eld of tion across the Paci c Ocean: Sili-
breakthrough advances in smart faculty to come here and to learn study in computer science and engi- con Valley. Each year, the university
technologies, such as AI and IoT. from the front runners of Industry neering from the experience it gains sends talented students to the U.S.
Consequently, local universities 4.0. Come study in Japan, and to- in robotics development. to gain experience working with
have to be focused on teaching up- gether, let’s build the society of the “Twenty- ve years ago, UA was engineers and to show their own
to-date and practical skills in order future,” he says. established. The mission of the products to potential investors in
to create a capable workforce,” university is to con rm that ICT is the technology hub. Oka says stu-
says Japanese education minister, University of Aizu a critical eld in order to advance dents are energized by the unique
Yoshimasa Hayashi. Established in 1993, The Univer- knowledge for humanity, and it has atmosphere of Silicon Valley, where
“More seriously, Japan is at the sity of Aizu (UA) in Fukashima therefore become our motto. Our they also can learn how to commer-
forefront of Society 5.0. AI, IoT, was the rst university dedicated university’s goal is to endlessly cre- cialize their products.
JAPAN 4
“We have a dual degree program not only in Japan and SIT, but also in
that allows foreign students to pur- other Asian countries,” he says.
sue multiple degrees. Foreign and Like most universities in Japan,
Japanese students can take the op- SIT is in the process of becoming a
portunity to visit Silicon Valley as well more international university and is a
as take part-time jobs in ICT compa- member of the Top Global University
nies around the University of Aizu,” project. Murakami explains the mis-
he adds. sion of SIT is to foster engineers and
“We can provide a unique en- scientists who can learn from the
vironment by mixing the Japanese world and contribute to global sus-
and Western way of research, and it Q “As a solution, we invite Q “Since its establishment, the tainability. To accomplish this goal,
is a unique one for creating original it encourages its students to see the
algorithms in ICT technology. The professors and lecturers from university has continuously world. The university is also encour-
Japanese way of thinking is holistic, Asia to learn about robotics focused on AI, robotics, big aging more foreign students to come
while the Western one is analytic. By and other high technologies data analysis and other related and experience the unique learning
mixing both educations, we create here at SIT. Robotics is an fields. Therefore, our university atmosphere that SIT has to offer.
a unique and complete educational interesting field of research and is at the forefront of many “Most industries in Japan are al-
system. We want each of our stu- of education. We are therefore ready globalized. It is now the turn
dents to graduate with special skills promising fields of research of Japanese universities to globalize.
that will allow them to develop to- expanding this field not only in and other developments that In fact, higher education in the STEM
morrow’s technologies,” Oka says. Japan and SIT, but also in other will undeniably shape our [science, technology, engineering,
Asian countries.” future.” and mathematics] eld itself is bor-
Robotics Powerhouse derless. Performing higher education
In 2014, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe MASATO MURAKAMI, RYUICHI OKA, in a global environment is important
unveiled a plan to maintain the coun- President, Shibaura Institute President, University in the internationalizing process of
try’s position as an international ro- of Technology of Aizu Japanese universities,” says Mu-
botics superpower by creating a new rakami.
industrial revolution driven by robot- (JAXA), the National Institute of In- such an advanced technology, it is “Thus we are increasing the num-
ics, a market that Mr. Abe hopes will formatics and the National Institute dif cult to nd professors with a ma- ber of international students and
reach a value of US$21 billion by of Science and Technology. jor in robotics to create international faculty at Shibaura Institute of Tech-
2020. The Shibaura Institute of Technol- partnerships,” explains SIT president, nology. I also encourage my students
Academic research is central to ogy established its robotics research Masato Murakami. to go abroad and see the world.
Japan’s robotic aspirations. There are center in 2015 and has 40 professors “As a solution, we invite profes- By sharing the traditional values of
more than 70 university-sponsored working there full time as it aims to sors and lecturers from Asia to learn Monozukuri, or craftsman spirit and
robotic laboratories in Japan, accord- advance in this exciting segment of about robotics and other high tech- tradition, Japan can grow into the
ing to the Robotics Society of Japan. the Fourth Industrial Revolution. It nologies here at SIT. They then go teacher of Asia. Students from Asia
Leading labs include the facilities at invites professors and researchers back to their countries to establish are also intelligent and industrious,
Kyoto University, Yokohama National from all over Asia to come work at a new department. We promote and inspire Japanese students. Inter-
University, Osaka University and the the center. international collaboration with SIT national students as a whole—not
Nagoya Institute of Technology. Pub- “I believe Japan is number one graduates who have become profes- just those from Asia—are very impor-
lic research organizations involved in the world in the eld of robotics sors. Robotics is an interesting eld tant for education and research at
in robotics development include the technology, and it is an area of inter- of research and of education. We SIT. Hence, we wish to invite more
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency est for many students. Because it is are therefore expanding this eld international students,” he says.
Project Team: Antoine Azoulay (Country Director); Produced by The Worldfolio.
Aline Ouaknine (Project Director); Alexandre Marland #TheWorldfolio Forbes Asia magazine did not
(Editorial Director); Fabrizio F. Farina (Regional Director of #JapanTheWorldfolio participate in its preparation and is
Institutional Relations); Jonathan Meaney (Chief Editor) not responsible for its content.
ENGINEER YOUR PATH TO THE FUTURE
The Shibaura Institute of Technology in Tokyo
is the only private technology university to
be selected for the Japanese government’s
prestigious Top Global University Project.
www.shibaura-it.ac.jp/en
5 JAPAN SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION
JAPAN’S MOST INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY
A small university with a grand vision, Ritsumeikan Q “About 97.8% of our
D(3C
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international mindset—global citizens with the power to degree students are not
1LC420 'L0 $*),H C4H ,0CH 'L0 D(3C@
C13 1 )023*4G here on an exchange basis.
They’re here to stay at least
The Ministry of Education’s Top universities are often not high in any four years. This means their
Global University Project provides international ranking systems. But involvement in the curriculum,
funding support for 37 world-class our international undergraduate ed-
and innovative universities that are ucation at APU gets full marks,” says in extracurricular activities,
leading the internationalization of APU vice president, Kenji Yokoyama. and involvement in the local
Japanese universities. Among the “About 97.8% of our internation- community is very serious.”
program’s 37 bene ciary universities al undergraduate degree students students with overseas learning ex-
is Ritsumeikan Asia Paci c University are not here on an exchange basis. perience. Q “APU will go on to play a vital
(APU). With 50% of its students and They’re here to stay at least four “Three years ago, APU created a
faculty members coming from more years. This means their involvement vision for 2030. It is a grand vision role in fostering the leaders and
than 80 countries, it is well ahead in the curriculum, in extracurricular that promotes the successes of APU’s the grand vision necessary to
of the pack in terms of internation- activities, and involvement in the lo- alumni in their future endeavors and lead the Asia-Pacific region.”
alization, and already offers most cal community is very serious. This is in their actions to change the world.
major subjects in both English and the main difference between APU Our graduates number at about HARUAKI DEGUCHI,
Japanese. and other international universities.” 15,000 and they are scattered across President, Ritsumeikan Asia
“Generally speaking, Japanese The small university has a grand the world,” explains APU president
C13 1 43%0)(3'"
universities have high-quality classes vision. Under the Top Global Univer- Haruaki Deguchi.
in engineering, science and technol- sity Project, APU has de ned a set of “Our vision includes different Deguchi believes that immersing
ogy. When it comes to undergradu- goals called the Four 100s—these ideas for university education,” adds Japanese students in a culturally di-
ate education, they are very weak, include creating a campus that can Dean of Admissions, Yuichi Kondo verse environment is crucial for the
especially in the eld of internation- attract students from 100 countries “It’s about global citizenship: how we future of the Japanese economy,
alization. It’s a reason why Japanese and providing 100% of domestic want to educate students to become which, he says, up to now has been
citizens of the world. Most Japanese based on the factory model, where
universities have a vague motto and values based on “unity, order and
a mission statement that involves a harmony” have been cultivated
philosophy. But our university goes among the workforce at the ex-
beyond this with global standards. pense of other values such as crea-
In order for our students to contribute to the society in which This vision is to help our students be tivity and free thinking.
they live, we are convinced that knowledge and expertise change agents—to change the world “Japan raised workers that
alone are not everything. It is also important to enrich as a global citizen—and we want to could endure and persevere, and
their personality. We devote our education to helping our achieve an environment that fully these characteristics are not linked
students develop a personality that has “The Knowledge,” supports this by 2030.” to creativity, uniqueness or criti-
“The Heart” and “The Mind” all blended in harmony. With the majority of its interna- cal thinking. Do you believe that
tional students coming from Asia, Steve Jobs could have thrived in a
another key goal for APU is foster- factory? Considering our economic
ing the young talent capable of con- situation, the key to Japan’s further
tributing to the future shape of the success lies in its ability to foster a
Asia-Paci c region, which, due to workforce that has values similar to
rapid economic growth and the es- those of Steve Jobs: values of crea-
tablishment of the ASEAN Economic tivity and diversity,” he says.
Community, is set to play a greater “The nest strategy to foster a
role on the international stage, both diverse society is to make people
economically and politically. interact with a variety of different
The spirit of the true hospitality
“APU will go on to play a vital cultures. We must encourage diver-
role in fostering the leaders and the sity and promote the immersion of
grand vision necessary to lead the oneself into what is foreign. I be-
Asia-Paci c region,” says Deguchi. lieve that APU is a ‘United Nations’
“Our graduates are able to study at composed of young people. Study-
a U.N.-like organization with a strong ing in such an international environ-
nancial foundation and a truly di- ment at such a young age enhances
verse and international environment the growth rate of any individual. It
with Japanese and English as com- is a true opportunity to expand one-
www.bunri-c.ac.jp/univ/english
mon languages for their classes.” self,” Deguchi adds.
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TIMOTHY ARCHIBALD FOR FORBES
64 | FORBES ASIA SEPTEMBER 2018
64 | FORBES JUNE 30, 2018
Millions of preteens
play video games on
Roblox’s website. That’s
not unusual for a social
gaming unicorn. What is
unusual: Teaching kids
the rudiments of coding
and paying them like
entrepreneurs.
preneurs
BY ALEX KNAPP
Roblox box: Cofounder Dave Baszucki leans
against a mockup of a video game action-figure set
at the firm’s headquarters in San Mateo, California.
SEPTEMBER 2018 FORBES ASIA | 65
FORBES ASIA
ROBLOX
hen Alex Binello ing to comScore, 6- to 12-year-olds spend can Idol for up-and-coming game devel-
was 13, he start- more time on Roblox than any other opers,” Baszucki says.
ed playing games on site on the internet. Among teenagers, it Roblox has its origin in a company
a website called Ro- ranks second, just behind Google’s sites, Baszucki founded in 1989, an education
Wblox. He loved spend- including YouTube. hat translates into tech startup called Knowledge Revolu-
ing time with titles like Work at a Pizza some pretty impressive numbers: Ro- tion. hat company built a program that
Place and Down Hill Smash! so much that blox is cash- ow-positive on an estimat- served as a 2-D lab where students and
he was inspired to build his own. Now, 11 ed $100 million in revenue last year (this teachers could model physics problems
years later, he is the creator of MeepCity, year that igure should be north of $200 with virtual levers, ramps, pulleys and
a sprawling role-playing game that got million) and has raised some $185 million projectiles.
15 million visitors in July on the Roblox in venture funding, valuing the compa- What Baszucki discovered as his sot-
platform. Forbes estimates the cartoon- ny at around $2.5 billion. Baszucki’s stake ware made it out into the student com-
ish game has earned Binello millions is worth an estimated $300 million. (Ro- munity was that kids were using the pro-
since its inception in 2016. he gram to do things far beyond
23-year-old, who has never textbook physics problems. In-
taken a single computer pro- stead, students were modeling
gramming class, now employs cars crashing, buildings falling
a salaried creative director and over and other fun stuf that the
uses six other freelance work- program’s physics tools enabled
ers to keep his game updated. them to build.
“Roblox has just been part of “Creativity by the players
my life,” he says. “I feel raised themselves was so much more en-
by it a little bit.” gaging than the content from the
Roblox, based in San Mateo, physics books,” he says.
California, is a combination In 1998, Knowledge Revolu-
gaming and social media plat- tion was acquired for $20 mil-
form. here are millions of lion by an engineering sotware
games that players—most- IN 2017 UP-AND-COMING company called MSC Sotware,
ly young people—can explore GAME DEVELOPERS EARNED so Baszucki decided to take some
with their friends, chatting time of and igure out what he
and interacting all the way. NEARLY $40 MILLION wanted to do next. Inspired by
But what’s unique about Rob- the worlds kids had built in his
lox is that the gaming compa- ON ROBLOX. THIS YEAR THAT interactive physics program, he
ny isn’t in the business of mak- NUMBER SHOULD TOP and Erik Cassel, who had been
ing games—it just provides the vice president of engineering at
tools and the platform for kids $70 MILLION. Knowledge Revolution, “went
to make their own unique cre- into a room for over a year and a
ations. Most impressively, Ro- half” to build the irst version of
blox has turned its tween audience into an blox’s other founder, Erik Cassel, died of Roblox.
army of fresh-faced entrepreneurs. Devel- cancer in February 2013.) “Right when we started, we imagined
opers can charge Robux, a virtual curren- Part of the reason for this growth is a new category of people doing things to-
cy, for various items and game experienc- the sheer number of games being pro- gether,” Baszucki says. “A category that in-
es, and they can exchange the Robux they duced. Nearly one million games are cre- volved friends, like social networking; a
earn for real money: 100 Robux can be ated every month by more than 4 mil- category that involved immersive 3-D,
cashed out for 35 cents. (Players can buy lion developers on the platform. hese like gaming; a category that involved cool
100 Robux for $1.) games cover a wide variety of genres, content, like a media company; and inal-
“A lot of the developers on Roblox grew from traditional racing and role-play- ly a category that had unlimited creation,
up on the platform,” says Dave Baszucki, ing games to the popular “cops and rob- like a building toy.”
Roblox’s 55-year-old cofounder and CEO. bers” game Jailbreak to more mundane For the irst few months ater Roblox’s
“And many of them are now starting to simulations like Snow Shoveling Simulator 2005 beta deployment, the user commu-
earn their living on the platform.” and Work at a Pizza Place. he platform nity was tiny—during peak periods about
Kids, as it turns out, are pretty good has even spawned its own genres, such as 50 people were playing at the same time
at making games that attract other kids. “obbys,” complex, hard-to-navigate obsta- (today that number averages over a mil-
Globally, Roblox sees more than 70 mil- cle courses. lion), but the small size of the community
lion unique visitors a month. Accord- “It’s almost as if we’re running Ameri- enabled Baszucki and Cassel to hang out
66 | FORBES ASIA SEPTEMBER 2018
with the players and get feedback as they TOP-EARNING ROBLOX GAMES ship program that works as an incu-
reined the platform. THESE FIVE TITLES HAVE EARNED A COMBINED bator or accelerator for young devs to
Once the pair published Roblox $16 MILLION FOR THEIR YOUNG CREATORS IN THE create games and improve them. his
FIRST SEVEN MONTHS OF 2018.
Studio—the app that enables Roblox program at the company’s Silicon Val-
users to create games and simulations— ley headquarters teaches them project-
the oodgates began to open. By the year management skills and holds them ac-
2012, Roblox had more than 7 million countable for the deadlines they set for
unique visitors per month, making it one their projects.
of the most popular entertainment sites Since Roblox doesn’t need to worry
for kids. he site continued to grow, but about making games—or even how to
tragedy struck its founding team when make money from them—it can focus
Cassel was diagnosed with cancer. almost exclusively on infrastructure.
“He loved what he was doing at Ro- TITLE CREATOR LAUNCHED TIMES PLAYED he company is in the process of mov-
MEEPCITY ALEX BINELLO FEB 2016 2 BIL
blox,” Baszucki says. “And I saw Erik Play mini-games like go-kart racing or just hang out with friends ing its platform from third-party cloud
in this role-playing game based in a sprawling city.
not change. He kept doing what he was ser vices to its own cloud. It’s hired Dan
doing. What for me was so amazing to Williams, who helped Dropbox move
see was that he was already in a good of Amazon’s Web service.
state of balance, and it kind of made me he next phase? Going internation-
look at my own life. It was an inspiration al. Although Roblox’s users come from
for the people we hire—inding the type more than three dozen countries, the
of cultural it where people have a pas- platform was English-only and dol-
sion and share our dream and make this lars-only until just a few months ago,
an amazing environment.” when Roblox launched a Spanish ver-
As the company grew, it also experi- JAILBREAK BADIMO JAN 2017 1 BIL sion. Since then, the company has av-
Cops and robbers on a grand scale, where kids play either police
mented with diferent business models. oicers or criminals. eraged 5 million visitors a month from
Initially, revenue came from advertising Spanish-speaking countries.
and a premium membership model he company has also produced
called Builders Club. But ater a few years Brazilian Portuguese, French and Ger-
the company had moved to its current man versions. It just hosted its second
model: selling Robux. European developer’s conference and
Roblox’s monetization scheme allows is building up teams to expand into
young developers to obtain a cut of the more regions over the next few years.
money spent on their games. In 2017, de- “It’s super-exciting to think that a
velopers earned nearly $40 million on MURDER MYSTERY 2 NIKILIS JAN 2014 1 BIL kid in Jakarta can make a game that a
the platform. hat number is expected to Players have to unmask the killer in their midst—before they’re next. kid in Menlo Park would never even
surpass $70 million in 2018. Roblox has imagine but is really fun and relevant
also started to make toys—think action to other kids in Southeast Asia—and
igures and plastic cars—based on pop- maybe the kid in Menlo Park, too,”
ular games. It shares the money it makes says Chris Misner, the president of
from those toys with its developers, earn- Roblox International.
ing them an additional $1 million in roy- “Our hope is that we will actual-
alties in 2017. ly bring people together around the
“We just empower developers to igure world,” Baszucki adds.
it out,” said Craig Donato, Roblox’s chief WELCOME TO BLOXBURG COEPTUS NOV 2014 425 MIL Despite the enormous growth of
A Sims-like game where players work jobs, then use the money to
business oicer. “If a dev is too aggressive buy houses, vehicles and more. the platform, Baszucki still keeps in
with monetization, kids won’t play. If they touch with his power users—even if
have a great idea, it’ll get copied.” many don’t know his name. On a Fri-
he company also helps budding cod- day-morning company tour for play-
ers up their game. Its annual developer’s ers, a guide asked the kids if they’ve
conference draws Roblox developers ever heard of Dave Baszucki—they
from all over the world to meet one an- all shook their heads. hen she asked
other and exchange tips and tricks. More if they knew Builderman (Baszucki’s
than 400 people came to this year’s RDC, name within Roblox).
which was held in San Francisco in July. MINING SIMULATOR RUMBLE STUDIOS FEB 2018 288 MIL A loud “Yes!” erupted from the
he company also has a paid intern- Strike it rich mining gems and precious metals. group. F
SEPTEMBER 2018 FORBES ASIA | 67
FORBES ASIA
WATCHBOX
Better Over Time
Sincere Watch scion embraces a new idea: sell older models.
BY PAMELA AMBLER
ay Liam Wee is part of the to resale mostly
global luxury-watch elite. focus on the U.S.
His father, Tay Boo Jiang, market.
led Singapore’s Sincere In a Hong
TWatch to retail promi- Kong interview,
nence. It was sold to Hong Kong rival Tay—sporting
Peace Mark in 2007 at a market high, a classic Rolex
and ater the global inancial crisis Presidential with
dragged the buyer into bankruptcy, the a gold bracelet,
younger Tay fetched his family business deep blue face and
back for not even a quarter of what he’d diamond index—
sold it for. A few years later, he ipped says the secondary
the irm again at twice the purchase inventory is too
price. For a bit, that got him a spot on large for auction
our Southeast Asia Rich List. houses to handle.
So how does the 59-year-old build “he watch divi-
on that legacy? In used watches, with sion in terms of
new-concept global retailer WatchBox, sale is $300 mil-
which sells only “pre-owned” time- lion,” he notes.
pieces. He’s invested with U.S. industry hat’s a fraction The pre-owned market is big, in more ways than one.
veteran Danny Govberg and another of the pre-owned and restores them. WatchBox provides
cofounder, Justin Reis, together raising market, which by Swiss advisory irm a warranty for authenticity. Refur-
$100 million more from Singapore pri- Kepler Cheuvreux’s estimates is $5 bil- bished watches, averaging $10,000 a
vate equity irm CMIA Capital Partners lion a year. piece, are then resold through the net-
to fuel a global expansion. WatchBox is pushing ahead in work at a 15% to 20% spread, says Tay,
he Swiss-centered luxury watch Asia, now the world’s most important who serves as Watchbox’s chairman. He
industry has always watch market, with a forecasts 2018 sales at $200 million.
shunned used physical showroom Some analysts estimate that the
products for fear of in Hong Kong’s pre-owned market in premium watches
cannibalizing new Central district. he could eclipse new sales in ive years,
watch sales—aside “collector’s lounge” but WatchBox will hardly have that
from the auction of is stacked with art to itself. Driven by an industrywide
rare vintage col- relating to the con- slowdown in sales, watchmakers
lectibles, which cept of time, curated have swallowed some of their doubts.
helps reinforce the by Cindy Chau, Tay’s Boutique Swiss maker MB&F launched
notion that pricey well-connected secondhand sales online at roughly a
watches are a good spouse. he space is 25% discount. Blue-chip Swiss brand FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/GETTY IMAGES (TOP); LIANHE ZAOBAO © SINGAPORE PRESS HOLDINGS LIMITED
investment. To be also part oice, part Audemars Piguet is setting up a similar
sure, used watches meeting ground for distribution channel. Luxury goods
have had a market, watch aicionados. group Richemont acquired Watch-
but mostly of late he Web portal inder, a platform to buy and sell used
through big Web difers from consign- watches both online and oline.
emporia like eBay ment sites Chrono24 WatchBox is taking the ight well
and Amazon. A and Chronext in that beyond Asia. In fact, this summer it
handful of smaller it takes physical pos- opened an oice to lead its European
sites dedicated Watchbox Chairman Tay LIam Wee. session of all watches expansion—in Switzerland. F
68 | FORBES ASIA SEPTEMBER 2018
PROMOTION 1
Forbes
Under 3O Summit
Asia July 16–18,2O18
Hong Kong
Participants and sponsors at the
Forbes Under 30 Summit Asia.
The third edition of the annual Forbes Under 30 Summit Asia was held in Hong Kong, from July 16-18, 2018.
Under the theme of “Driving Change”, the summit gathered over 320 young leaders, entrepreneurs and
’
gamechangers from Forbes “30 Under 30 Asia” lists, as well as CEOs, mentors, industry leaders, investors and
disruptors from across Asia.
The summit featured compelling content from an all-star lineup of speakers in panel discussions, display of
’
innovative futuristic technologies in tech demos, as well as a Food and Music Festival showcasing Asia s most
brilliant young chefs and rising Asian entertainers.
PROMOTION 2
1-ON- 1 Administrative Region, People’s Republic of China
with Carrie Lam, The Chief Executive, Hong Kong Special
WELCOME REMARKS
by Edward Yau Tang-wah, Secretary for
Commerce and Economic Development,
Hong Kong Special Administrative
Region Government
Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam engaged in a one-on-one dialogue with
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role as a hub for entrepreneurship and innovation.
with Tan Min-Liang,
KEYNOTE INTERVIEW Cofounder & CEO, Razer
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PART 2: REACHING FOR PART 3: WHAT’S MONEY
THE SKIES GOT TO DO
WITH IT?
South Korean singer Eric Nam showed a few dance
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Kanika Tekriwal, Cofounder
& CEO , JetSetGo Stanislava Pinchuk, Artist
PROMOTION 3
Panelists discussed the ways they are contributing
SUSTAINABILITY to a more sustainable future in Asia.
PART 1: WORKING TOWARDS A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE IN ASIA PART 2: NECESSITY IS THE
MOTHER OF INVENTION
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Founder, Rainergy
DISRUPTIVE TECHNOLOGY
Tech disruptors presented their innovative solutions and
highlighted how these technologies are changing the world.
PART 1: TECH SHOWCASE
Togo Ogi, Cofounder, FunLife Hu Zhenyu, Founder & Executive Director, Linkspace
PART 2: DISRUPTING THE STATUS QUO
Dhruv Sharma, (L-R) E
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Founder, GuestHouser Digital Reporter, Forbes Asia & COO, Bitspark
PART 3: THE ULTIMATE PART 4: THE FUTURE OF AI IN ASIA
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PROMOTION 4
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY Panelists shared more about their causes and
how some of them used entrepreneurship as
a tool for social change.
PART 1: ENTREPRENEURSHIP FOR A CAUSE PART 2: INSPIRING
CHANGE
Suhani Jalota, Founder,
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DISCOVERY AREA some of the most exciting
The discovery area showcased
inventions and products that
landed their creators on the
Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia lists.
The products on display
included AR goggles,
robots, wearables and
more.
Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia listmaker Chen Jingshu, Cofounder
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Florian Simmendinger, Founder & CEO of
Soundbrenner (middle) with a participant
trying out the Soundbrenner Pulse, a
wearable smart vibrating metronome.
Esther ChunShu Wang, Founder of Joytingle (left)
presented her educational toy called “Rabbit Ray” that
teaches children about common medical procedures.
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(right) – which donates a pair of prescription
glasses to students in rural China for every
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Land Development.
Ramesh Dhami (left) and Shriyans Bhandari
(right), Cofounders of Greensole showcased
their comfortable footwear made from
refurbished discarded shoes, which are
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Sang Hun Oh, Cofounder of LUXROBO (left) demonstrated
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PROMOTION 5
FOOD & MUSIC FESTIVAL
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featured young chefs and performers showcasing
their talents. Kickstarting the festival were the
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Utharntharm, Chef at The Table from Thailand,
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festival. All-star Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia alumnus
and South Korean singer Eric Nam also took to the
stage for a truly memorable end to the night. "@GIM K G K
COOKING DEMONSTRATIONS MUSIC PERFORMANCES
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“MEET THE MENTORS”
AND STARTUP TOUR
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connected selected young entrepreneurs
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where participants
learnt about
industry trends and
fundraising, as well as
networked with some
of the community’s
prominent members.
PROMOTION 6
HONG KONG STARTUP OPEN HOUSE
The Hong Kong Startup Open House gathered local entrepreneurs
from Hong Kong’s hottest startups spanning various industries
like consumer tech, education and e-commerce. Four homegrown
of the city’s rising startup scene.
Tommaso Tamburnotti, Cofounder of Easyship (left),
a Hong Kong-based e-commerce platform that aims
to simplify logistics for small to medium-
sized e-commerce sellers.
Jasmine Lau, Cofounder & Executive Director
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empowering millennials for impactful
social ventures.
PUB CRAWL @
LAN KWAI FONG
Participants also had the opportunity to
explore Hong Kong’s famed entertainment
district, Lan Kwai Fong, barhopping and
visiting some of the area’s trendiest and
HONG KONG most unique nightlife spots.
SIGHTSEEING TOURS C F D N Hong Kong Foodie Tasting Tour
From a walking tour for foodies to
taste well-known local delights, to
an island tour introducing some of
Hong Kong’s popular landmarks such
as The Peak which overlooks the city’s
spectacular skyline, Forbes 30 Under
30 Asia listmakers got to experience
some of Hong Kong’s most iconic
sights and features.
‘UNDER 30’
TRAM PITCH
Sponsored by Hong Kong Tourism
Board, Forbes hosted wooden
startup
pitching sessions onboard one
Photos credit – Hong Kong Tourism Board (Bottom row) H
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30
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presented their
Asia listmakers
nd
startups
as the tram roamed
the
pitching his startup onboard Hong Kong’s iconic old
wooden tram.
busy streets of Hong Kong island.
PROMOTION 7
NETWORKING Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia honorees and participants
also had the opportunity to network during the event.
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MJI!MIKM "!? J"KND>DJ"!NM I NC@ FORBES UNDER 30 SUMMIT ASIA
Supporting Organizations
Sponsor
Supporting Sponsors
FORBES ASIA
BILLIONAIRES TO BE
Cigarette Breakers
James Monsees and Adam Bowen have cornered the U.S. e-cigarette
market with Juul. Up next: the world. BY KATHLEEN CHAYKOWSKI
“CIGARETTES ARE PROBABLY the most successful 7,000 chemicals found in regular cigarettes. But e-ciga-
consumer product of all time, and they kill more than half rettes have drawn criticism for their popularity among
of all people who use them long-term,” says James Mon- teenagers and the lack of research into their long-term
sees (above, le ), the 38-year-old cofounder of Juul Labs, health efects.
maker of the world’s most popular e-cigarette. “hat got us Monsees is not concerned: “A fairly small percentage
interested.” of underage consumers are creating a lot of noise and
Juul (pronounced jewel) introduced its ash-drive- distracting us from what can otherwise be one of the
shaped device in 2015 and has since taken over some 70% greatest advances in public health in our lifetime.”
of the U.S. market. A Juul, which transforms a pod of In April, however, the Food & Drug Administration
nicotine-laced liquid into inhalable vapor, sells for $34.99, requested documents from Juul about its advertising and
while a four-pack of pods goes for $15.99 (some pods con- the product’s health impact, to investigate whether the
tain as much nicotine as a pack of cigarettes). Juul’s rev- company has intentionally appealed to youth. Monsees
enue should grow by more than 300% this year, to roughly says Juul never has and never will market to underage
$1 billion. he company, which is proitable, is valued consumers.
by investors at nearly $16.3 billion; Forbes estimates that foreign reach. It’ll face opposition overseas, too; last
he founders are concentrating on expanding Juul’s
Monsees and his cofounder, Adam Bowen, 43, each own
BRIAN TAYLOR FOR FORBES about 5% of Juul, stakes worth some $730 million each. month Israel banned the Juul device. “We are 0.5% of
the global tobacco market,” Monsees says. “We’ve hardly
E-cigarettes are unquestionably safer than traditional
smokes, containing fewer toxins than the mélange of
touched the problem we’ve come out here to solve.”
SEPTEMBER 2018 FORBES ASIA | 77
Technology
Breaking Hearts
HeartFlow has raised $467 million for a test to detect heart disease.
Problem: It might not make patients better o .
BY ELLIE KINCAID
J ohn Stevens’ corner oice in Redwood City, California, wings of ighter jets. Could the same mathematics explain blood
has a nice view of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.
moving through the heart? He hooked up with Christopher Za-
rins, the chief of vascular surgery at Stanford’s School of Med-
His desk, though, is a hand-me-down, and the cracked
leather upholstery on the chairs reveals their history as icine, earning a Ph.D. for the cardiology work and becoming
Ikea oor models. “We can probably aford some new chairs a professor at Stanford himself. Together, they founded Heart-
now,” he says. Flow in 2007.
You’d think. HeartFlow, the health-tech startup of which Taylor, HeartFlow’s chief technology oicer, did a study of his
Stevens is chief executive and president, has raised $467 mil- early sotware on a dozen patients in Latvia and raised $2 million
lion, most recently at a $1.5 billion valuation, from inves- in venture capital. Stevens had been inspired to become a sur-
tors such as Wellington Management, Baillie Giford & Co., geon as a boy, ater a pitchfork went through his toe, but quit his
GE Ventures and BlueCross BlueShield Ventures, according to job doing heart operations for the startup life two decades ago.
Pitchbook. He joined Taylor in 2010.
he valuation is based on a big idea: a noninvasive test that In a 2014 study, HeartFlow’s sotware analyzed the CT
peers into a patient’s coronary arteries to see how blocked they scans of 254 patients, matching FFR 84% of the time in detect-
are. Right now, such a test involves threading a catheter from ing a clog and 86% when blood was owing freely. Later that
the groin up to the heart and measuring blood ow, a slight- year the FDA approved HeartFlow’s sotware as a medical de-
ly risky procedure called fractional ow reserve (FFR) that is vice to evaluate the symptoms of coronary artery disease.
done a million times a year worldwide to decide whether a pa- Experts use the HeartFlow test mainly in ambiguous cases.
tient needs a stent to open a clogged artery. Using sotware Hank Plain, 60, a healthcare investor who focuses on medi-
trained with a deep-learning algorithm, HeartFlow says it can cal devices, got a CT scan that showed calciied plaque in his
get a similar measurement from a CT scan, a lower-risk, three- coronary arteries, but a stress test (a walk on a treadmill with
dimensional picture of the heart constructed with X-rays. electrodes on his chest) indicated no problems. hen a CT
Medicare reimburses HeartFlow $1,450 per test. scan was put through HeartFlow’s sotware, which revealed
“his will be the most efective way of looking at cardiovas- two partial block ages. His doctor decided to insert two stents.
cular disease and safer than anything else on the market,” says “It’s very scary to know you have coronary artery disease,
Bill Weldon, HeartFlow’s chairman and the former chief exec- knowing it played out with other family members,” Plain says.
utive of Johnson & Johnson. “And when you put those togeth- “It’s good to be back, focused on life.”
er, it’s a combination you can’t beat.” He sees the test being used An open question is when stents are worth their cost and
routinely. risk. hey save lives when placed during a heart attack and ease
Skeptics are legion. “Over time, these kinds of technologies chest pain. But a 2,287-patient study a decade ago and a more
get hyped, and when they get studied, reality sets in,” says Ste- recent comparison to a sham procedure raised doubts that they
ven Nissen, the chairman of cardiology at the Cleveland Clinic. are better than medication. So does using HeartFlow prevent
“Someone takes an idea that seems very sexy and attractive, but unnecessary procedures or cause them?
when you get down to the science, it isn’t solid.” For every $1,450 test, HeartFlow says, it prevents $4,000 in
he technology’s usefulness may come down to a deeper costs. But “do patients live longer and have fewer heart attacks
question: How efective are stents for treating heart disease, and when you do this approach, as opposed to something more
do you even need to know whether an artery is open or not? routine?,” asks Venkatesh Murthy, a cardiologist at the Univer-
HeartFlow was started by Charles Taylor, who as a Ph.D. sity of Michigan. Indeed, do patients need a cardiac ow mea-
student in the 1990s was studying how wind coursed over the surement at all?
78 | FORBES ASIA SEPTEMBER 2018
HEALTHTECH
HeartFlow CEO John Stevens at the Grand
American Hotel in Salt Lake City. He says he quit
being a heart surgeon because he could help
more people as an entrepreneur.
“I don’t wake up in the middle of the night thinking can we port is “fundamentally awed.”
do an FFR in more people,” says Ethan J. Weiss, a cardiologist here are also many believers, like Robert D. Saian, a cardi-
at University of California, San Francisco. ologist at Beaumont Health in Royal Oak, Michigan, who has
hen there are technical doubts. HeartFlow calculates ow received $3,000 from HeartFlow for travel. “Initially, I was one
by looking at the shape of a blood vessel, as one might guess of the worst skeptics, but now I’m completely converted and I
the speed of a stream from the shape of its banks. “Trying to think it’s amazing technology,” he says. He’s used HeartFlow for
measure FFR from a CT scan is like trying to run a marathon the past three years on 2,000 patients.
on one leg,” says Darrel Francis, a professor of cardiology at Most large U.S. insurers pay for HeartFlow’s test, as does the
the National Heart & Lung Institute in the U.K. According to ever-skeptical U.K. National Health Service. Medicare is paying
a report in JAMA Cardiology, analyses that used CT scans to for it except in the western U.S. Says Stevens, the chief execu-
measure ow, including but not limited to HeartFlow, were tive, “At the end of the day, the data will win.” F
much less accurate in sicker patients. HeartFlow says the re- Matthew Herper contributed to this story.
TIM PANNELL FOR FORBES
SEPTEMBER 2018 FORBES ASIA | 79
TECHNOLOGY BEN SIN // GADGETMAN
CASHING IN HER CHIPS
XU KE IS REALLY GOOD with num- worths by selling user data. This is why block-
bers. As an exchange student at the Uni- chain is important—you own the data yourself,”
versity of California, Riverside in 2013, she says, explaining that her company couldn’t
the Beijing native developed a knack for sell Ono users’ data even if it wanted to, be-
poker, and though she was not yet 21 cause Ono is a “dapp,” or decentralized app.
(the minimum gambling age in the U.S.) Ono is available in the Google Play store,
at the time, the existence of online poker and the iOS version will come out this month.
and lenient southern California casino It’s also accessible through any Web browser.
laws allowed her to play regularly and I signed up and was surprised to see quite a bit
hone her skills in probability and risk of English-language content, considering that
assessment. most of the users are in China. The network
Her days in card rooms both digital felt like Twitter (or more accurately, Weibo),
and physical allowed her to meet a fair number of interesting, uncon- but without character limits. “You are able to
ventional characters, including investors in cryptocurrency, back before write as many words as you want,” Xu says.
“crypto” became a business media buzzword. She was intrigued and Ono is funded by the $16 million that Nome
began mining bitcoin. The deeper she dug into currency, the more she Labs raised from investors such as China
agreed with its philosophy of decentralization via blockchain. Growth Capital and Korea Investment Part-
Xu continued to play poker when she moved back to China in 2014. ners. Xu says the app will run ads and partner
Whenever she scored big at the poker table, she’d invest the money in with brands down the line.
bitcoin. At the peak of her bitcoin-buying days, Xu says, she had more The Nome team in Beijing has a staf of 76
than 50,000 units of the currency. She eventually cashed out 20,000 (Xu says there are 15 other stafers around the
bitcoins in 2014 at $240, for a $4.8 million payday. world). There are also thousands of volunteers
Now 24, Xu realizes that she sold them too soon—20,000 bitcoins who help oversee the site. “Ono is run demo-
would be worth $120 million now—but she made good use of the mil- cratically and lets content creators retain own-
lions she did make. In 2016, after a stint creating and selling a social ership over their content and get rewarded,”
app, she founded Nome Lab, a Beijing startup that specializes in making Xu says. This will be achieved via a system in
blockchain product and games. which the best content creators (as voted by the
Of these, the digital goods trading game CryptoDogs has been the community) receive digital currency that can be
most successful. But this year, following recent controversies over traded or used for in-app purchases.
Facebook’s misuse of personal data and giving a platform to far-right Xu has lofty goals for Ono. “I hope it can
conspiracy theorists, Xu has focused on her next be the number one social
idea: a free social network based on blockchain network,” she says. But
technology, in which all user data are decentralized, while beating Facebook
with a self-governing system that rewards users who will almost be impossible,
share quality content. one has to admire her
The beta version of the network, called Ono, competitive spirit. She says
launched in April, and according to Xu it already has that every time she sells
more than 3 million members. something—be it bitcoins
Xu cites the origins of the Web as the inspiration or her first social app—she
behind Ono: “When [British computer scientist] isn’t happy, despite the
Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web, payday.
his vision was to let humans exchange information “I enjoy winning more
and knowledge freely. The internet belongs to all than making money,” she THOMAS KUHLENBECK FOR FORBES (TOP); BEN SIN
of us. But it’s become so centralized now. Most of says. “I want to build some-
the world’s top ten tech companies built their net Xu Ke: poker fanatic and founder of Ono. thing that lasts.” F
BEN SIN IS A HONG KONG-BASED CONTRIBUTOR TO FORBES.COM WHO WRITES ABOUT CONSUMER TECH.
80 | FORBES ASIA SEPTEMBER 2018
The Philippines’ 50 Richest
BY GRACE CHUNG
Big Ups and Downs
Volatility shakes up the list this year, enabling seven to make their debut.
here’s been a general lift in Philippine real es-
tate and construction fortunes, and then there’s
Manny Villar: His wealth has tripled over
the past year, making him now the country’s
T second richest. Shares in his Golden Bria (for-
merly Golden Haven) leapt a staggering 1,300% in the first
quarter, as a profitable business in burial services was joined
with a new Villar vehicle for developing housing projects
and condos for middle-class families. Investors saw in the
mix a basis for the magnate building telecom infrastructure,
an especially attractive play.
The 50 ranking had an unusually volatile year, with 19
seeing net worths shift 20% or more, compared with just 12
last year. Ramon Ang, Inigo and Mercedes Zobel and Edu-
ardo Cojuangco were among those on the upside, thanks to
shares in their San Miguel, the country’s largest beer brewer,
rising 70% from a year ago. In July it announced plans to
invest $1 billion in ten new breweries across the Philippines
and in other countries.
Seven newcomers made the list, including self-made
fashion designer Josie Natori and Necisto Sytengco of
chemical-trading outfit SBS Philippines. Isidro Consunji
and his siblings replace their founder father, David, who
died last September (see p. 89). Others who make their
debut are William Belo of big-box chain Wilcon Depot,
Jerry Liu of semiconductor maker Cirtek Holding, and Ra-
Manny Villar: Shares in his Golden Bria leapt 1,300%.
fael Simpao and Alberto Villarosa of Security Bank.
A notable 27 fortunes declined, however. Media tycoons from $120 million a year ago.
Gilberto Duavit, Menardo Jimenez and Felipe Gozon fell The list was compiled using information from the indi-
as shares in their GMA Network dropped 11%. The network viduals, stock exchanges, analysts, private databases, gov-
posted a 21% decline in earnings for the first half of 2018. ernment agencies and other sources. Net worths were based
The biggest loser was Betty Ang of noodle giant Monde on stock prices and exchange rates as of the close of markets
Nissin, who shed 70% of her total on a sharp fall in net on August 24, 2018. Private companies were valued by using
income, according to the latest available annual report. financial ratios and other comparisons with similar publicly
Mining magnates Philip Ang and Luis Virata dropped traded companies.
off the list as the sector suffered from tighter state regula- With reporting by: Pamela Ambler, Prisca Ang, Caroline
tions on nickel extraction and increased competition from Chen, Rebecca Feng, Neerja Jetley, Sean Kilachand, Anis Sha-
Indonesia. kirah Mohd Muslimin, Suzy Nam, Anu Raghunathan, Sheela
In the end, the 2018 barrier to entry was $125 million, up Sarvananda, Jessica Tan and Jennifer Wells.
84 | FORBES ASIA SEPTEMBER 2018
THE LIST
1. HENRY SY
$18.3 BILLION
SM INVESTMENTS
AGE: 93
2. MANUEL VILLAR
$5 BILLION S
GOLDEN BRIA AGE: 68
3. JOHN GOKONGWEI JR.
$4.4 BILLION T
JG SUMMIT AGE: 92
4. JAIME ZOBEL DE AYALA
$4 BILLION
AYALA CORP. AGE: 84
5. ENRIQUE RAZON JR.
$3.9 BILLION
INTERNATIONAL CONTAINER
TERMINAL SERVICES
AGE: 58
6. TONY TAN CAKTIONG
$3.85 BILLION S
JOLLIBEE AGE: 65
7. LUCIO TAN
$3.8 BILLION
LT GROUP AGE: 84
8. RAMON ANG
$2.85 BILLION S
SAN MIGUEL AGE: 64
9. GEORGE TY
$2.75 BILLION T
GT CAPITAL HOLDINGS
AGE: 85
10. ANDREW TAN
$2.6 BILLION
ALLIANCE GLOBAL
AGE: 66
11. INIGO & MERCEDES ZOBEL
$2.5 BILLION S
AYALA CORP.
AGES: 62, 61
12. ISIDRO CONSUNJI & SIBLINGS
$2.45 BILLION Ì
DMCI AGE: 69
13. LUCIO & SUSAN CO
$1.5 BILLION T
PUREGOLD PRICE CLUB
AGES: 63, 60
14. EDUARDO COJUANGCO
$1.4 BILLION S
SAN MIGUEL AGE: 83
15. ROBERT COYIUTO JR.
$1.3 BILLION T
PRUDENTIAL GUARANTEE &
ASSURANCE AGE: 65
16. ROBERTO ONGPIN
$1.25 BILLION
ALPHALAND AGE: 81
WILFRED STEVEN UYTENGSU JR.: IRONMAN 17. MERCEDES GOTIANUN
$1.15 BILLION T
The Philippines boasts the label “Asia’s triathlon capital” thanks to the Alaska Milk chairman. Uytengsu’s Sunrise Events FILINVEST DEVELOPMENT
group brought the iconic Ironman races to the country a decade ago and has expanded to six headline-grabbing events: AGE: 90
In August the Asia-Pacific Championship of Ironman in Cebu drew 2,500 triathletes from 52 countries. “Bringing in foreign
athletes helps expand sports tourism and make the Philippines a destination,” says 57-year-old Uytengsu, a 20-year veteran
SUP MORE THAN 10% TDOWN MORE THAN 10%
of triathlon sports. His fortune comes from the 2012 sale of his family’s Alaska Milk to a Dutch company. ÌNEW TO LIST 3RETURNEE
SEPTEMBER 2018 FORBES ASIA | 85
The Philippines’ 50 Richest
TONY TAN CAKTIONG:
SMASHING BURGERS
The restaurant tycoon who chairs
the $5 billion Jollibee Foods
is on a global expansion spree
this year. Armed with a $230
million war chest, he’s looking
to open 500 stores—at least
200 outside the Philippines. In
April, Jollibee, which spans 12
restaurant brands, swallowed an
additional 45% stake in U.S. chain
Smashburger in a $100 million
deal. Tan is also looking to open
a store in Manhattan under its
Jollibee brand, selling chicken
and burgers. In the past year, this
“McDonald’s of the Philippines”
also ventured into Europe with a
store in Milan. Another, in London,
is slated this year.
LANCE GOKONGWEI:
SUMMIT CEO
In April John Gokongwei Jr.’s
only son was elevated to
chief executive of JG Summit
Holdings, the Philippines’
second-largest family-run
conglomerate. The company,
founded by dad (now No. 3 on
list) in 1957, has interests ranging
from banking and real estate to
airlines, telecommunications,
power and food. As part of shift,
the 51-year-old transitioned from
CEO to chairman of the group’s MATTHEW STAVER/BLOOMBERG (TOP); VEEJAY VILLAFRANCA/BLOOMBERG (BOTTOM)
food and beverage unit, Universal
Robina. A nonfamily member was
appointed to the post, a first for
a Summit core company. Lance
is also the CEO of the group’s
Robinsons Land, Robinsons Retail
and budget airline Cebu Airline,
which became the country’s
largest carrier under his helm.
86 | FORBES ASIA SEPTEMBER 2018
THE LIST
18. RICARDO PO SR.
$1.05 BILLION
CENTURY PACIFIC FOODS
AGE: 87
19. DEAN LAO
$950 MILLION
D&L INDUSTRIES
AGE: 59
20. BEATRICE CAMPOS
$700 MILLION
UNITED LABORATORIES AGE: 93
21. CARLOS CHAN
$650 MILLION
OISHI AGE: 77
22. WILLIAM BELO
$600 MILLION Ì
WILCON DEPOT
AGE: 73
23. OSCAR LOPEZ
$480 MILLION T
ABS-CBN AGE: 88
24. EDGAR SIA II
$475 MILLION T
DOUBLEDRAGON PROPERTIES
AGE: 41
25. JOSE & ROBBIE ANTONIO
$400 MILLION
CENTURY PROPERTIES
AGES: 71, 41
26. FREDERICK DY
$390 MILLION T
SECURITY BANK AGE: 63
27. ALFREDO YAO
$380 MILLION T
MACAY HOLDINGS AGE: 74
28. JORGE ARANETA
$315 MILLION T
ARANETA GROUP AGE: 82
29. JACINTO NG
$310 MILLION T
ASIA UNITED BANK
AGE: 76
30. MARIANO TAN JR.
$300 MILLION T
UNITED LABORATORIES
AGE: 56
31. VIVIAN QUE AZCONA
$290 MILLION S
MERCURY DRUG AGE: 63
32. BETTY ANG
$270 MILLION T
MONDE NISSIN
33. JON & MIKEL ABOITIZ
$265 MILLION T
ABOITIZ EQUITY VENTURES
AGES: 70, 63
JOSIE NATORI: MADE IN MANILA
The fashion designer behind The Natori Co. retails her fashion, lingerie and lifestyle brand through U.S. department stores 34. ERIC RECTO
$260 MILLION S
such as Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdales and Neiman Marcus. Founded in 1977, the company has an estimated $200 BEDFORDBURY DEVELOPMENT
million in annual sales and boasts more than 500 factory workers in eastern Metro Manila. Her son Kenneth runs the show as AGE: 55
president and is focused on growing online sales. Natori, now 71, is a pianist who once performed at Carnegie Hall and was
the first woman vice president in corporate finance at Merrill Lynch. She holds dual citizenship in the Philippines and the U.S. SUP MORE THAN 10% TDOWN MORE THAN 10%
Her wealth includes real estate in New York’s Westchester County, Manhattan and Palm Beach. ÌNEW TO LIST 3RETURNEE
SEPTEMBER 2018 FORBES ASIA | 87
The Philippines’ 50 Richest
BY AURORA ALMENDRAL
Airports
& Asphalt
n the midst of fast growth and an improving investment climate,
the Philippines is long overdue for a nationwide infrastructure
Ioverhaul—one which President Rodrigo Duterte hopes will
become part of his legacy. EXPRESSWAY, MANILA
Duterte’s “Build, Build, Build” campaign consists of 75 major Jaime Zobel de Ayala’s AC Infrastructure is investing in trai c
mitigation, one of Manila’s most intractable problems.
public infrastructure projects, from roads to oodways, transporta-
tion, drinking water, energy and airports. Filipino tycoons are keen
to get a piece of the promised $180 billion public investment and are
launching privately funded projects in what many are hoping is the
dawn of a golden age of Philippine infrastructure.
Little ground has been broken so far in Duterte’s push as his
economic team works to i nd inancial footing. he government is
moving away from the public-private partnership model favored by
previous administrations, ater chronic underspending in infra-
structure resulted from bottlenecks in negotiations or approval
processes, and shy bids for the projects from corporations. Duterte
has turned to loans and development assistance, most notably from
China and a recently passed tax hike.
However, the much-vaunted Chinese cash has been slow to
materialize, and critics are concerned about what strings may be at-
tached. he excise taxes and value-added taxes, which the Philippine
inance department estimated would add $1.8 billion in revenues in
its irst year, are already controversial for driving up prices.
But private operators are moving ahead regardless. Some of the
Philippines’ biggest names highlight the action. NINOY AQUINO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
San Miguel’s Ramon S. Ang, who diversiied the food and Some of the Philippines’ richest have teamed up to propose a $6.7 billion plan
to modernize Manila’s International Airport. The consortium is made up of
beverage company into a large infrastructure developer, says, “h e
companies run by Erramon Aboitiz, Jaime Zobel de Ayala, Lucio Tan, John
Philippines today is among the world’s fastest growing economies. Gokongwei, Andrew Tan and Mercedes Gotianun.
But unless we are able to build
the needed infrastructure, we will
not be able to sustain long-term
growth.” Ninoy Aquino International Airport, hobbling along at overcapac-
Along with major road proj- ity, Ang’s proposal may be his most ambitious yet. A $13.8 billion
ects—holdovers from the previous Manila Bay Airport, 27 kilometers north of the capital, would have
administration—San Miguel has four runways and an initial capacity of 100 million passengers per
proposed a new airport north of year. he project, which San Miguel plans to fully fund, received
Manila. Meant to relieve conges- approval from the Philippine economic board, chaired by Duterte,
Ramon S. Ang tion from the capital’s beleaguered this April. It is now being prepared for the Swiss challenge process,
ZI/ISTOCK/GETTY IMAGES PLUS ; ANG: NOEL CELIS/AFP/GETTY IMAGES; AYALA: EDWIN TUYAY/BLOOMBERG NEWS; ABOITIZ: CARLO GABUCO/BLOOMBERG
TED ALJIBE/AFP/GETTY IMAGES; CEMENT: HISTORIC IMAGES / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO; LIGHT RAIL: DUY PHUONG NGUYEN / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO; WATER FACILITY: ANNAVAC-
TRAFFIC: NOEL CELIS/AFP/GETTY IMAGES; POWER PLANT: SERGEI MALGAVKO/TASS VIA GETTY IMAGES; LIGHT RAIL: DUY PHUONG NGUYEN / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO; AIRPORT:
88 | FORBES ASIA SEPTEMBER 2018
THE LIST
35. EDGAR SAAVEDRA
$245 MILLION T
MEGAWIDE CONSTRUCTION
AGE: 43
36. MICHAEL COSIQUIEN
$240 MILLION T
MEGAWIDE CONSTRUCTION
AGE: 44
37. MANUEL ZAMORA JR.
$235 MILLION T
NICKEL ASIA
AGE: 78
38. WILFRED STEVEN
UYTENGSU JR.
$230 MILLION
ALASKA MILK
AGE: 56
THERMAL POWER PLANT, 39. JOSE MA. CONCEPCION
SARANGANI $215 MILLION
DMCI is building a thermal power plant in CONCEPCION INDUSTRIAL AGE: 60
Sarangani for a subsidiary of Japan’s JGC
Corp. It will serve the city of General Santos 40. WALTER BROWN
and its energy-short surrounding province. LIGHT RAIL STATION, ANTIPOLO $200 MILLION S
DMCI is building a light rail station in Antipolo, which will ATOK-BIG WEDGE AGE: 79
Isidro Consunji, 69, is acting chairman of be the first station of the capital’s light rail system to be
DMCI Holdings following the death last located outside Manilla. 41. NECISTO SYTENGCO
year of his father, David, the founder of the $180 MILLION Ì
conglomerate. The oldest of 8 siblings, Isidro SBS PHILIPPINES AGE: 64
also helms Semirara, a mining and power 42. ALBERTO VILLAROSA
company. $170 MILLION Ì
SECURITY BANK
AGE: 67
43. P.J. LHUILLIER
$160 MILLION T
CEBUANA LHUILLIER
AGE: 73
44. RAFAEL SIMPAO
$155 MILLION Ì
SECURITY BANK
AGE: 74
45. JOSIE NATORI
$150 MILLION Ì
THE NATORI CO.
AGE: 71
APO AGUA INFRASTRUCTURA 46. JERRY LIU
The Aboitiz Group is building one of the Philip- $145 MILLION Ì
CIRTEK AGE: 70
pine’s biggest water supply facilities in Davao,
a city that has experienced a water shortage 47. JULIETTE ROMUALDEZ
CEMENT PLANT, NORZAGARAY since 2016. $140 MILLION
In anticipation of the building boom, Erramon Aboitiz is BANCO DE ORO
putting $300 million more across its cement plants over AGE: 82
the next five years through his family’s Aboitiz Group, 48. GILBERTO DUAVIT
including a recently expanded plant in Norzagaray. $ 135 MILLION T
GMA NETWORK
AGE: 83
49. MENARDO JIMENEZ
$130 MILLION T
which allows rival groups to submit counterpropos- ed Aboitiz InfraCapital in 2017. As the government GMA NETWORK
als, but favors San Miguel by allowing it to match moved away from the PPP model, the Aboitiz infra- AGE: 85
new of ers. structure arm pivoted toward water, acquiring Lima 50. FELIPE GOZON
$125 MILLION T
“We have a great momentum now; the sense of Water and a minority stake in Balibago Waterworks
GMA NETWORK
urgency from government and from our people is System. hese add to an earlier Aboitiz venture, AGE: 78
palpable,” Ang says by email. Apo Agua Infrastructura in Davao City, one of the
SUP MORE THAN 10% TDOWN MORE THAN 10%
Family-group patriarch Erramon Aboitiz found- Philippines’ largest private bulk water suppliers. F ÌNEW TO LIST 3RETURNEE
SEPTEMBER 2018 FORBES ASIA | 89
Entrepreneurs
Hair on Fire
Inspired by personal tragedy and her family’s homemade beauty concoctions, Nancy Twine went
from trading commodities on Wall Street to building a fast-growing luxury hair-care brand.
BY CHLOE SORVINO
A you can’t do this without silicones,” Twine says. “I had to do my own
charcoal and coconut-oil shampoo that smells like
research and tell chemists what they needed to be blending in order
mint cookies ows into dozens of 8-ounce tubs at a con-
tract lab in suburban New Jersey. Surveying the tubs is
to get it to work better.”
33-year-old Nancy Twine, who created the shampoo, a
Even though so-called clean beauty is one of the fastest-growing
scalp-exfoliating formula that retails for nine times the cost of mass- segments of the beauty industry, there are few nontoxic hair lines in
market shampoos like Head & Shoulders. “his was a big one for general and even fewer for textured hair. hat gap has created a big
us,” says Twine, founder of the hair-care
company Briogeo.
In recent years, as more and more beau-
ty products are manufactured at indepen-
dent labs, dozens of women have launched
their own brands, from makeup artists
turned bloggers like Huda Kattan to celeb-
rities like Kylie Jenner. But Twine says her
seven years at Goldman Sachs have given
her a leg up, prepping her to price ambi-
tiously, source ingredients directly, combine
orders to save money on production runs
and build relationships with partners. On
retail shelves for just four years, Briogeo has
been proitable every year of its existence
and brings in more than $10 million in an-
nual revenue from sales at Sephora, Nord-
strom, Forever 21’s Riley Rose and sample
services like Birchbox and Ipsy. “From the
start,” Twine says, “I wanted to make sure
that our margins were good, so that not
only could we reinvest back in the brand
but so that down the line we never had to
compromise.”
Twine, who identiies as African-Amer-
ican, is attempting to appeal to all women.
Unlike many brands, Briogeo targets cus-
tomers by hair texture (wavy, coily, dry,
thin) rather than by ethnicity. “I remem-
ber going to CVS back in the day, and it was
always very segregated,” she says. In addi-
tion, Briogeo formulates its naturally de-
rived products without sulfates (linked to
skin irritation), silicones (may dry and thin
hair), phthalates (potentially toxic in high
concentrations), parabens (banned in the
European Union; binds to estrogen recep-
tors), DEA (also a skin irritant) and artii-
cial dyes. “People were literally telling me
90 | FORBES ASIA SEPTEMBER 2018
SMALL GIANTS
opportunity. Black customers purchased almost $500 million worth Her mother’s death was life-changing for Twine, who says she re-
of shampoo last year, according to the research irm Mintel, and are alized that working on Wall Street was “not how I should be living
the fastest-growing segment of the $13 billion U.S. hair-care market, life.”
according to Euromonitor. Most Briogeo products are priced slight- Inspired by both her mother and her grandmother, who taught
ly below other premium hair brands, a point of pride for Twine. he her how to make products with natural ingredients, Twine started
competitive price helped Twine convince retailers that her prod- devoting nights and weekends to researching the beauty business. At
ucts could hit a new, hard-to-reach consumer: one who wants to New York City’s small-business library, she spotted reports of a shit
buy a high-end, nontoxic product but at the lower end of the luxury toward natural skin care but saw little if anything suggesting a simi-
range. “I love her price point because it says she’s taken the time to lar shit involving hair. And nothing she saw in the reports focused
do her homework,” says Dana White, the African-American owner on the luxury end of the clean hair market.
of Paralee Boyd, a budding Detroit chain of walk-in salons that cater On her own time, while working at Goldman, Twine spent more
to curly and textured hair. “We have money to spend.” than a year searching for a lab and chemist with the ability to cre-
he event that spurred Twine to start her business was a trage- ate nontoxic products. It took another year to test hundreds of for-
dy that struck in 2010, three years into her stint at Goldman Sachs. mulas. Twine named her startup Briogeo, blending the Italian word
hat was when her mother, a doctor turned chemist who had just for “liveliness” with the Greek word for “earth.” By 2013 she had
inished creating a natural face cream she hoped to take to market, four formulas. “It’s the combination of clean beauty with identify-
was hit by a car. ing a speciic consumer segment with a speciic need,” says Marla
Beck, the CEO and cofounder of the beauty retailer Bluemercury.
“She saw that really, really early, so kudos to her for having vision for
where the industry was going.”
Early on, Twine bootstrapped the business with her savings
while looking for an investor. But she was pitching mostly to angel
investors who specialized in tech and weren’t interested in beauty’s
latest gold rush. Eventually, at a Long Island Angel Network event in
2012, Twine met Philip Palmedo, who liked her presentation but ac-
knowledged he knew nothing about hair care. Early the next year
he gave her $150,000 for a small stake. Twine’s only outside back-
er, Palmedo says the decision violated everything he’s learned about
investing—but has been one of his most successful. “Decisions like
this are intuitive,” he says. “Believing in the person.”
Briogeo’s irst two orders—from Urban Outitters and the buzzy
L.A. boutique Fred Segal—came later that summer ater Twine had
taken vacation time to attend Cosmoprof, a Las Vegas trade show. It
was there that she met Sephora’s buyers. In January 2014 the chain
agreed to launch Briogeo on its website in the U.S. and Canada. he
next week, Twine gave notice at Goldman. Today Briogeo is the fast-
est-growing hair-care brand on Sephora’s site. “She brings some of
the most innovative and exciting products that we have seen in hair
care to the table, truly,” says Artemis Patrick, Sephora’s chief mer-
chandising oicer.
To select packaging, Twine visited Sephora locations and turned
bottles over to check the manufacturer. To source ingredients, she
called up suppliers and asked if they would deal with her directly.
“From the commodities and logistics business,” she says, “I always
felt comfortable dealing with manufacturers. Some of my founder
friends have a consultant do a lot of that work for them. It eats into
your margins because they’re marking up the prices.”
Briogeo is now expanding into Sephora stores in the Middle
East, Europe and Southeast Asia. A new line available at Sephora
and elsewhere features a shampoo and a conditioner made with nu-
trient-rich superfoods like apple, kale and matcha extract. In July,
RAINA + WILSON FOR FORBES expects revenue to top $15 million this year. “Goldman always had a
the company also launched a shampoo and conditioner in a large
“We make everything from our own original product briefs, our “back bar” size for salons to use while washing clients’ hair. Twine
own ideas, our own market research. We never go and select
from some of-the-shelf formula,”says Briogeo founder Nancy
Twine from her oice in Manhattan’s NoMad neighborhood. client-irst mentality,” she says. “Relationships are everything. hat’s
the same thing that I’ve applied here.” F
SEPTEMBER 2018 FORBES ASIA | 91
Forbes Life
Htet Myet Oo manages three diferent restaurant concepts and a staf of nearly 200 employees in Yangon. He juggles marketing, HR and project management while his
business partner and fiancée runs the back oice. While ofering no specific figures, Htet claims RTH Group revenues have doubled each of the last three years. “I’m a
Millennial,” he notes. “I like results now.” But Htet acknowleges that there is a balance: “If you don’t provide value and quality, no one will come.”
Good Eats in Myanmar
A hungry 30 Under 30 entrepreneur comes home to feed his people.
BY JANE A. PETERSON
orn in Myanmar and raised in the U.K., Htet Myet day one, RTH Group aims for 20% net proits. In 2016, private
Oo returned to his homeland in 2012, armed with equity partner Anthem Asia joined as a minority investor to fuel
an economics degree from City University of Lon- local expansion. he dream: to take the concept abroad within
Bdon. In 2014, at age 24, he launched the Rangoon three years. While he doesn’t rule out an IPO, he’s happy as an
Teahouse, specializing in traditional Burmese cuisine. Situated owner: “I love the restaurant business, I am a people person.”
in Yangon’s colonial downtown district, the restaurant caters to Still, competition is tough. When Rangoon Teahouse opened its
middle-class locals, expats and tourists. doors in 2014, downtown eateries were scarce. Today 15 restaurants © MINZAYAR OO/PANOS FOR FORBES
Htet, a member of our 2016 30 Under 30 list, started the busi- and two ive-star hotels operate nearby. “Yangon is a very competi-
ness with $25,000 of his own money, which he earned importing tive place,” Htet admits, noting that retaining customers and staf is a
secondhand Japanese cars into Myanmar. Breaking even since constant concern. “he market is still not big enough.” F
92 | FORBES ASIA SEPTEMBER 2018
FOODIE FRONTIER
The Rangoon Teahouse has a Manhattan vibe and serves an average of 650 patrons a day. In the center island, waiters prepare 16 versions of La Phet Yay, traditional
Burmese tea most often topped with sweetened condensed milk. Prices are considered midrange but are still double what you pay in a typical Burmese teahouse. Look
for the soup called “catfish and daggertooth mohinga” and salad made with pennywort leaves and peanuts.
RTH Group’s two newer, less expensive concepts live side-by-side on Bogalay Road in downtown Yangon. Ofering speedy lunches for locals, Mr. Wok (bottom right)
sells Asian noodle dishes, while Buthee (top right) specializes in Burmese curries. Buthee was inspired by beloved recipes from Htet’s aunt.
SEPTEMBER 2018 FORBES ASIA | 93
FORBES ASIA
BUY, HOLD, SELL
Score the Ski Watch, Boot the Bordeaux
Expert advice on luxe investments.
BY CHRISTIAN KREZNAR
BUY HOLD SELL
Jean-Claude Killy Patek Philippe Richard Mille
Rolex—Dato- Ref. 2526 High-End Modern
Compax With fewer than Production
W Legendary 600 of these Watches
skier’s timepiece produced in the When a downturn
line from the ’60s 1950s, most with arrives, the fi rst
is an increasingly porcelain-enamel to feel it will be
hot alternative to dials, near-mint- watches that retail
the famed Rolex condition models over $500,000. Have
Daytona. Be will see prices rise an extra one? (But of
JOHN REARDON course.) Move it now
International head mindful: Dial and steadily.
of watches, Christie’s case condition are while resale prices
everything. are high.
BUY HOLD SELL
2015 Tenuta Delle All Northern 1982 Red
Terre Nere Etna Rhône Reds Bordeaux
Calderara Sottana X Availability of older Time to crowbar
Proprietor Marc vintages of Côte open those original
de Grazia was Rôtie, Hermitage wooden cases of
one of the fi rst and especially ’82 and either drink
to recognize the Cornas is sparse; or sell. The ripeness
potential demand has of that legendary
of Sicily’s long- skyrocketed. Place vintage has started
dormant Etna your largest bets on to turn the fl avors of
ANTHONY GIGLIO region. This Cornas’ “big four” aging into those of
Wine director for American spicy red, rich in vintners: Thierry stewed fruit.
Express’ Centurion Lounges;
contributing editor to raspberry fruit Allemand, Auguste
Food & Wine and silky tannins, Clape, Noel Verset
will last beyond a and Robert Michel.
decade.
BUY HOLD SELL
Loie Hollowell Ulay & Marina Lucas Cranach
W Young painter Abramović the Elder
of abstract and Collaborative Four paintings by the
suggestive work, Polaroids German Renaissance
on the tip of every An exhibition of solo master have sold in
collector’s tongue, is and collaborative excess of $1 million
showing at the Pace works in London next this year. His works
Gallery in London this year is likely to drive aren’t in limited
autumn. Only one demand for these supply. Can demand
ZOHAR ELHANANI work has auctioned; it radical performance keep up?
CEO of MutualArt, a sold for $68,750, four artists, particularly
comprehensive online art-market “Mother’s Milk” (2018) times the midrange their Polaroids from
information guide by Loie Hollowell
estimate. the 1980s.
94 | FORBES ASIA SEPTEMBER 2018
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THOUGHTS ON
Advice
“GIVE A MAN “I am glad I
A FISH, AND paid so little
YOU’LL FEED attention to
HIM FOR A DAY. good advice.
TEACH A MAN Had I abided
TO FISH, AND by it I might
HE’LL BUY A “COUNSEL have been
FUNNY HAT. INVOLVING RIGHT saved from
TALK TO A AND WRONG some of my
HUNGRY MAN SHOULD NEVER most valuable
ABOUT FISH, BE SOUGHT FROM mistakes.”
AND YOU’RE A
CONSULTANT.” A MAN WHO — EDNA
DOES NOT SAY ST. VINCENT
—SCOTT ADAMS MILLAY
HIS PRAYERS.”
“I GIVE MYSELF —FULTON J. SHEEN
SOMETIMES ADMIRABLE
ADVICE, BUT I AM “They tell me not to drink, and I do drink.
INCAPABLE OF TAKING IT.” They tell me not to eat, and I do eat.”
—MARY WORTLEY MONTAGU —WILLIAM MAKEPEACE THACKERAY
“People are very “I ALWAYS ADVISE
fond of giving PEOPLE NEVER TO
away that which
they need most GIVE ADVICE.”
—P.G. WODEHOUSE
themselves. It is
what I call the
“To ask advice is in nine cases “All your life people will
depth of generosity.” out of ten to tout for attery.” tell you things. And most
—OSCAR WILDE —JOHN CHURTON COLLINS of the time, probably 95%
of the time, what they’ll
“NO ONE WANTS ADVICE ONLY CORROBORATION.” tell you will be wrong.”
—MICHAEL CRICHTON
—JOHN STEINBECK
“The best advice I ever
received was ‘No one CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: MARCIO JOSE SANCHEZ/AP; BACHRACH/GETTY IMAGES; ALFRED EISENSTAEDT/THE LIFE PICTURE COLLECTION/GETTY IMAGES; GLENN WEINER/ZUMAPRESS/NEWSCOM; HISTORIC COLLECTION/ALAMY; ROGER VIOLLET COLLECTION/GETTY IMAGES; ULF ANDERSEN/GETTY IMAGES; ERIC LIEBOWITZ/GETTY IMAGES; HULTON ARCHIVE/GETTY IMAGE; LISZT COLLECTION/NEWSCOM
else knows what they’re
doing either.’ ”
—RICKY GERVAIS
“Advice is “WHO CANNOT GIVE
what we ask GOOD COUNSEL?
for when we ’TIS CHEAP, IT COSTS FINAL
already know THEM NOTHING.” THOUGHT
the answer but —ROBERT BURTON “Listening to advice
wish we didn’t.” often accomplishes
—ERICA JONG “LISTEN TO ADVICE AND ACCEPT DISCIPLINE, AND AT far more than
THE END YOU WILL BE COUNTED AMONG THE WISE.” heeding it.”
—PROVERBS 19:20 —MALCOLM FORBES
SOURCES: ANATOMY OF MELANCHOLY, BY ROBERT BURTON; LIFE OF JOHN CHURTON COLLINS, BY JOHN CHURTON COLLINS;
HOW TO SAVE YOUR OWN LIFE, BY ERICA JONG; THE TIMES BOOK OF QUOTATIONS; THE LETTERS AND PRIVATE PAPERS OF
WILLIAM MAKEPEACE THACKERAY; THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY, BY OSCAR WILDE; THE LOST WORLD, BY MICHAEL CRICHTON.
96 | FORBES ASIA SEPTEMBER 2018
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