Teo Ho Beng Regains Hiap Hoe Chairmanship as Son Promoted to CEO

The third generation is on the rise at Singapore’s Hiap Hoe, with former chairman Teo Ho Beng retaking the top board spot at the real estate firm after a nearly seven-year interval as his son Marc Teo succeeds him as CEO.

Teo Ho Beng, son of the late Hiap Hoe founder Teo Guan Seng, previously served as executive chairman of the group from 2012 until May 2017, when Ronald Lim, formerly of banking giant UOB, took the helm.

The company announced Lim’s retirement as independent non-executive chairman and Teo Ho Beng’s reappointment in a series of filings with the Singapore Exchange earlier this week. In addition, board member Leslie Koh stepped down, with he and Lim being replaced by Kwok Chui Lian and Ong Seet Joon as non-executive directors.

All of the announced changes took effect from 2 January.

Ready to Take Over

The Hiap Hoe board proclaimed that Marc Teo “possesses the requisite experience and capabilities to assume the responsibilities as a chief executive officer of the company”.

Before his elevation to CEO, Marc Teo was appointed executive director in 2017 and took responsibility for Hiap Hoe’s overseas expansion plans and corporate investments.

He managed the group’s project-related matters for all developments, both in Singapore and overseas, and oversaw the hospitality portfolio. His previous positions included construction project manager and project management executive.

Before joining Hiap Hoe, the accountancy graduate of Nanyang Technological University spent two years with Ernst & Young Singapore.

Orchard Bears No Fruit

Hiap Hoe made headlines last February when it announced the failed collective sale of Orchard Towers, coming a year after owners of units in the notorious entertainment and office complex had put the property on the market with a reserve price of S$1.6 billion ($1.2 billion).

Through its ownership of 59 strata units in the freehold property via its Golden Bay Realty subsidiary, including 21 shops and 38 offices, Hiap Hoe is the biggest landlord at the property in the prime Orchard Road shopping area of Singapore’s District 9.

The SGX-listed company has also made a splash with its real estate investments in Western Australia, including the 2018 acquisition of the 224-room Aloft Perth hotel and an office building for A$100 million (now $66.7 million) and last year’s purchase of a 198-bedroom freehold motel, known as the Great Eastern Motor Lodge, for A$40 million.