MR WONG Teek Son, 45, still has nightmares about his poverty-stricken childhood.
The founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Malaysia-based specialised glove maker Riverstone Holdings was born into a poor vegetable farming family in a remote town in Cameron Highlands.
As the eldest son - he had two older sisters and seven younger siblings - he hated the tough work he was required to take on at the farm.
Besides taking care of his nine siblings, he had to lend a hand at the farm during school holidays. All his leisure time was also given over to the farm.
'We used to hate holidays. We worked from 7am till 6pm, watering, fertilising and ploughing under the hot sun at the farm,' he recalled.
'Even today, I have the same bad dream, which starts with one of my parents telling me to go work at the farm.'
When the vegetables did not grow well, Mr Wong, then aged nine, would be asked to catch fish and frogs so he could sell them door to door. For that, he was teased to no end by his friends.
These selling skills came in handy when he set up his glove-making company T S Enterprise in 1989, but back then, he never dreamt he would become his own boss one day.
The family scraped together enough cash to send him to the University of Malaya, where he studied chemistry.
After graduating, he worked as a research and development chemist at a glove manufacturer. When the company closed its operations, he felt compelled to set up a business of his own so all of his nine colleagues would be re-employed.
'I chose to start my own business as it was the only way to ensure that my friends and colleagues had jobs and that their families would be well taken care of. At the beginning, we offered glove packing services on a contract basis,' said Mr Wong.
Eventually, his operations advanced from powder-free gloves to high-tech cleanroom gloves.
His company was renamed Riverstone in 1991, and before long, it had expanded into Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand, the United States and China.
Last year, Riverstone was listed on Singapore's mainboard. For the year ended Dec 31, 2006, it generated a net profit of RM22 million (S$9.4 million) from turnover of RM120 million to RM130 million.
Mr Wong says he is a simple man and does not spend unnecessarily. His only indulgence is his home gym equipment, which cost RM20,000 (S$8,556). An exercise fanatic, he works out daily and can run 12km easily within one hour.
'That was the right investment for me as I relax in my gym outside office hours,' he said.
Q What are your money habits?
A Although I founded a listed multinational company, I am not cash-rich. That is because I believe money is not everything in life. I feel that money is hard-earned and should be well-spent.
My top managers and executives own Riverstone shares. I gave the shares to them not to tie them down, but to reward them for the great work they have done. Likewise, when an object is worth the price tag, I will pay for it.
Otherwise, I recommend a prudent lifestyle. This is reflected in my family life as we prefer a fairly simple lifestyle. I have two young children, aged six and eight, who do not receive any pocket money. They have to pack their own food for school every day.
People need to develop a proper understanding of the money equation. Money is not everything. However much or little you have, your expenditure is always your income less your savings - not the other way around.
Since 2002, I have saved more than 80 per cent of the dividends and incentives given out by my company every year. I can't save much from my monthly pay because more than RM20,000 goes to expenses, a home loan and taxes.
Before 2002, I ploughed all of the dividends and incentives back into Riverstone.
Q What financial planning have you done for yourself?
A Most of my investments are in fixed deposits and property.
Prudence is something I believe in strongly, so whatever planning I do is also cautious and prudent. The house I bought last year is part of my investments because I believe Malaysia will continue to grow and the house will grow in value.
Besides fixed deposits, I keep my cash locked up in Riverstone shares because I have faith that the company will do well. I work hard to make that happen.
Q What about insurance planning?
A Insurance planning is fairly important to me, as I want to be ready for rainy days. Hence, I take a conservative approach to investments and prefer to invest in solid, long-term investments.
About half of my insurance policies are whole life and endowment plans. My life is insured for about RM3 million. My annual premiums come to RM30,000.
Q What's your investment philosophy?
A I think of money as a scarce item, so I tend to use it very carefully. I think a lot about how to invest my hard-earned money and that is why I don't really splurge.
I have put a lot of hard work and effort into building Riverstone up as a solid, long-term instrument. In the early days, I put much of my own income and savings into the company's operations. I also ploughed company profits back into the company.
I take a long-term view of investments - they must adequately compensate you over the timeframe you have set out. If you take a short-term view, the value of your investments becomes cyclical.
I could have sold off my company shares when we listed on the Singapore Exchange, but I chose not to do so. The reason is simple: Investing in a good company that delivers good results will bring higher yields in the long run than risky, volatile investments.
Q What about property investments?
A I have a 1,300 sq ft condominium in Kuala Lumpur that I purchased in 2000 for RM500,000. The market price is about RM700,000 now. I'm renting it out for RM4,500 a month. I also have a small condominium in Melbourne, near the Crown Casino; I bought that in 1999 for A$260,000 (S$328,536). Now, it is fetching a monthly rent of A$1,500 and should be worth over A$350,000.
Q Moneywise, what were your growing-up years like?
A We lived in a remote town, so I had to walk long distances, about 2km, just to get groceries. I was only six back then. My family was large, with 10 children in the house. As the third child, I had to take care of my younger siblings.
We all had to help out at the vegetable farm during our school holidays. Almost every free moment we had was spent at the farm.
This had a great impact on my perception of money. It is only through hard work that you will succeed in life. Money will come if you work hard.
Q What has been a bad investment?
A I invested in a start-up in the magazine publishing industry in 1996 and lost RM200,000 in just three to four months. The investment was a mistake because I didn't know the business well and I believed my friend would be able to run it profitably.
The timing was not right because we were in the middle of the Asian financial crisis then and many advertisers defaulted on their payments. I had no time to manage the business either.
Q Your best investment to date?
A It has to be Riverstone. It has always had very low gearing, right from day one. I started the company without having to invest in any machinery because my ex-boss allowed me to use his factory facilities. I just paid the rent for the building.
Back then, I had 10 staff; now, I have more than 1,000. We have a factory north of KL that sits on 3.2ha of land, and in Thailand, we own 1.6ha of land.
Before the Singapore listing, our net asset value was about RM70 million. Our market capitalisation is now about RM300 million and I have a 51 per cent share in the company.
Since the listing, our share price has risen by about 42 cents; the listing price was 26 cents.
Riverstone is now the leading manufacturer of high-tech cleanroom gloves, and supplies to almost all the big names in the semiconductor and hard disk drive industries.
Q What's your retirement plan?
A I'm still young and have a long way to go in terms of working. I want to develop Riverstone into a leader in end-to-end cleanroom consumables within the next few years. I hope to achieve this before I pass the mantle on to the next CEO. I can't think of retirement before then.
When I do retire, if my home mortgage and car loan have been paid up by then, I would need about RM5,000 to RM10,000 in today's money for expenses. I would also like to have enough money to travel.
Q And your home now is... ?
A I live in a 5,000 sq ft bungalow in Mont Kiara in KL. It was bought last year for RM3.7 million.
