From Dropout to Billionaire: Chua Thian Poh's Success Story

Today, Sentosa Cove is a very popular place in Singapore, and Ho Bee Land is the biggest private developer there.

In the early 2000s, Sentosa Cove was just a piece of land that few people thought could become a great place to live. But Ho Bee was the first private developer to invest heavily in the area.

Chua Thian Poh said that at that time, the idea of luxury waterfront living was new in Singapore, but he saw the potential of Sentosa Cove to become a world-class area.

Before Sentosa Cove, Ho Bee was already established by Chua.

Chua Thian Poh is the founder and executive chairman of Ho Bee Land.

Chua was the fourth of 14 siblings and dropped out of high school. He borrowed money from his mother to start a business making hooks and spikes.

He later started trading commodities in Indonesia and earned enough money to start his property business in 1987. Ho Bee began by buying an industrial building and then developed smaller projects.

Chua invested in Sentosa Cove in 2003, and Ho Bee built eight buildings in the following years. The first five buildings were quickly sold at high prices to buyers from many countries.

The profits from these projects made Ho Bee one of the top performers in the Singapore stock market between 2006 and 2010.

By the early 2010s, home prices in Sentosa Cove had fallen, and two of Ho Bee's projects in the area were partially sold. The largest project, Cape Royale, was not sold.

Instead of selling at a low price, Chua turned Cape Royale into a rental property, which generated enough income to cover the costs while waiting for a better time to sell.

Sales of Cape Royale finally started in 2022, with half of the 50 units released sold on the first day.

This is a picture of Sentosa Cove in 2015.

The investment in Sentosa Cove was one of Chua's successful bets that helped Ho Bee grow into a major property developer with projects in many countries.

Another important move was when Chua shifted his focus from Singapore to London in 1996, which helped Ho Bee avoid the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis.

Chua said that in property development, you never know if it's the right time or not, but they were lucky to have escaped the crisis.

After Sentosa Cove, Ho Bee developed The Metropolis, a 23-story office building. The project was completed in 2013 and generated recurring rental income.

This move again put Ho Bee ahead of the curve, and the project attracted many multinational tenants.

In recent years, Ho Bee has been investing more in Australia. They bought a large piece of land in Queensland for A$318.5 million.

The company also gives back to the community through the Ho Bee Foundation, which supports education, healthcare, and the arts.

Chua, now one of Singapore's richest people, has been passing on the leadership of Ho Bee to his eldest son, Nicholas Chua.

Chua and his son have different working styles but share the same principles, including treating people fairly and finding win-win solutions.

Chua said that to have a long-lasting career, you need to be fair and reasonable to all stakeholders, so everyone wants to work with you.

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