Singapore property magnate Asok Kumar Hiranandani is at the top of his game, presiding over 30 hotels, office buildings and shopping centers in the city-state alone, with others in Malaysia, Indonesia and Australia. He ranks 20th among Singapore's richest, with a net worth of $1.4 billion. And yet, at the age of 59, the chairman of Royal Group Holdings is already talking of ceding control to his son, Bobby, who's just 28.
'I'd rather give the business over when I'm alive,' Asok explains from their opulent boardroom on Phillip Street in the central business district. Though Bobby started in the business only five years ago, he now takes the lead for new projects as Royal's managing director. 'Bobby has a vision for the company because he knows the stake is his,' says Asok as he waits for him to return from a lunch meeting.
Bobby is working on Royal's biggest project, the renovation of a 215-room resort hotel on Sentosa Island. Scheduled to start receiving guests late next year, it is the second project that Bobby is seeing through with the Sofitel brand-Royal's Sofitel So Singapore just opened not far from headquarters.
Asok, in his well-tailored suit and knit Hermès tie, is a fit with the boardroom's Louis XVI gold cabinets and highly glossed wall panels of Burwood-each of which, he notes, required one felled tree. In the hallways there are enormous Italian chandeliers, marble Corinthian columns topped with gold leaf, Dutch paintings of windmills and life-size sculptures of stallions. In the reception area: painted portraits of his mother and father, migrants from India in the 1947 Partition, as well as the omnipresent RG gold crown insignia.
Bobby enters the boardroom and briefly shares with his father details of his lunch session, which was on the Sentosa project. 'Family business decisions are easy,' Asok explains as his son nods. 'We both have the same vision, and we have benchmarks, so there's no room for arguing.'
In fact, the two seem inseparable. Bobby, who is unmarried, takes vacations with his parents and the three live under one roof in the Meyer Road enclave of wealthy Indian Singaporeans. Father and son do go their separate ways on weekday mornings-dad to a neighborhood Sikh temple to pray and son to check out properties in one of his father's numerous luxury cars. But they meet up around 10 a.m. and often go back out together to look at potential deals or one of their properties. 'We discuss details together in the office and then later over dinner together at home,' says Asok. 'The next day it starts again.'
When the elder Hiranandani is present, the floor is largely his. 'We're still investing in commercial property in Singapore; we can't stop.' The portfolio has long boasted such prizes as Singapore shopping centers Lucky Plaza, Tanglin Shopping Center and Far East Plaza. It also owns the Intercontinental Sydney Double Bay Hotel and a DoubleTree by Hilton in Kuala Lumpur. 'The sweet spot now is prime commercial and retail property,' he says. 'We're buying more [outside Singapore], but I can't say where yet. The deals will be announced very soon.' With that, Asok departs, leaving it to his son to continue.
Sofitel So, a 134-room, five-star hotel near Raffles Place, is the first project Bobby managed himself. 'At the end of the day it's mine,' he says confidently. 'I look and say, 'The place is stunning and sexy.' What's not to love? I love 'my pie.' ' Opened in May, it's already in the black, according to Bobby. Reminiscent of the Royal Group headquarters, the hotel facade's Ionic columns appear golden at night. Inside, the rooms sport a funky blend of Parisian and Singaporean touches, including psychedelic wall hangings of Napoleon and ' lion's seal' door knockers designed by Karl Lagerfeld. Ranging up to $1,044 a night, the rooms are equipped for corporate visitors, down to the 'hangover' bags with remedies for drinking too much. Until business contracts kick in, leisure travelers are booking most of the rooms, says Bobby. 'That's a shocker. We're even getting families, which I didn't expect.'
Now Bobby revels in what he does. He keeps a close eye on Sofitel So, often eating lunch in the colorful Xperience restaurant, which aims to 'redefine dining in Singapore.' But reviews are mixed. On a Friday afternoon it's about half full. In front of the open-plan kitchen, Anne-Cecile Degenne, Singapore's first female hotel executive chef, prepares the main course, a red curry seafood cassolette. The 'silky' roasted carrot soup with goat cheese foam and the 'crunchy' Vietnamese spring rolls are excellent, but the service is not yet top-notch, which is hardly surprising. Government constraints on employing foreign workers create staffing shortages for virtually all of Singapore's restaurants and hotels.
With the refurbishment of the future Sofitel on Sentosa-estimated to cost up to $18 million-Bobby is aiming at the conference business. He bought the beachside property last year for $165 million, choosing to keep it operating as the Singapore Resort & Spa Sentosa until work is completed. He says it 'has stunning bones' but looks 'old and run-down.'
He credits much of his youthful confidence to his parents. 'I like to say I'm the best of both,' he laughs. Asok taught him to be strict about investment criteria but was remarkably easy-going during his teenage years, treating him like a friend, says Bobby. His mother was the one pressing him to achieve more at Singapore's Anglo-Chinese School and then the National University of Singapore. 'I tell my staff,' he says, ' 'Always keep going. No matter what, push it forward. You can always do better.' That I took from my mom.'
As for Asok, he was just 17 when his father died and he and his older brother, Raj Kumar, took over the family's struggling textile business. 'When crisis hits the home, you don't start thinking about your age,' he says. 'You reap what you must.' By the mid-1980s the two were focused on real estate plays. Then in 2011 they split the assets to avoid a potentially brutal disagreement over succession. Today Raj Kumar-who dropped the Hiranandani surname-and his son Kishin RK own Royal Holdings/RB Capital on Malacca Street, just around the corner from Royal Group. Their combined $2.3 billion ranks 11th in Singapore.
Asok clarifies that he doesn't have a specific time frame for 'turning over his business.' For his part, Bobby says he will never sell Royal's trophy properties, which he says generate a massive annual cash flow. 'I have an engine behind me already,' he says. Such is the Singapore way. 'Look around. All the property is owned by a government entity or a family business. We're all here for the long haul. Nobody's selling,' he says. When prime deals do come up, Bobby characterizes the competition as friendly. 'In this industry everyone gets along,' he contends. 'After a deal we exchange notes. 'What happened? What was your edge? Why didn't you go into the deal?' We're all best friends.' Bobby expects the government will make more land available for hotels once tourist numbers hit 16 million a year; such a decision, he says, could happen as early as next year. As for office property, he thinks rents will have to rise to a certain point before more land is released. In both cases Royal is keen to compete. 'Singapore is the place to be; it has pushed itself to the top of the world,' Bobby maintains. 'Its future is infinity.'
But his dream is London, his favorite home away from home. He wants a stake in the premier Knightsbridge and Mayfair markets. 'I call it the 'golden mile of the world,' ' he exclaims. ' Opportunities are tough to come about. We'll have to find them.'
Asok vows his support. 'Some parents,' he says, 'cannot even have a good conversation with their kids. I'm fortunate. My two kids (the elder, daughter Dimple Hiranandani Aswani, is a Royal director) says, 'Dad, please come with my friends.' I treat them as equals. When I ask questions, I listen.' Returns Bobby: 'I tell Dad, 'Never leave the office until you drop dead. Enjoy yourself.' '
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