It’s not hardly their fault. Sign up to have the latest lifestyle news I still encourage my children to ask why – but you don’t have to be so impulsive in your responses. You’re given nothing. And I said let’s start a spa but back then, nobody had any idea what a spa was. In the conference’s 30-year establishment … The concept of service is very ingrained in them. Ho Kwon Ping (Chinese: 何光平; born 24 August 1952) is a Singaporean businessman. For entrepreneurs, you have to see what trends or waves in society that are heading your way, and then try to get on the surfboard and ride as best as you can to reach the shore. The only thing that I planned to do was that I wanted to create a brand but at that time, I didn’t have a clue what that brand would be all about. Mr Ho: In terms of the questions I asked, they were completely different – a different set of questions but with the same origins. What did you find you had been lying to yourself about given that you say jail was a time when you found that you could no longer lie to yourself? And then, we came to the last piece of land, which doesn’t have a beachfront at all. It’s much easier to be hungry for something physical and then achieve it; it’s much more difficult to be hungry for something more amorphous, more social, hungry for a more purposeful life. You don’t have freedom fighters and so on – you might get an Amos Yee. When you are a teenager and then a little bit later in life, when you ask yourself the same question ‘Why do I study?’ then the answers come in: I study because of my career; I study because of this or that. Mr Ho Ren Hua is a director and CEO of Thai Wah Public Company Limited and a director of Laguna Resorts & Hotels Public Company Limited. So, we felt that to be associated with the Mandai Park Holdings was in alignment with our brand. Mr Ho: I wish I would’ve known that the consequence of certain things would be this or that. If you’re going to say something about an issue and some Minister hits at it, so what? Dusit Thani did a great job managing it and then, we started doing more hotels. IPS-Nathan Lectures Singapore: The Next Fifty Years - Lecture III: Security and Sustainability by Ho Kwon Ping. 12 November 2014 1 Introduction But you still accept that your answers are within a certain boundary of practical answers. started his career as a broadcast and financial journalist before joining his family business in 1981. What occupied your mind while you were in jail given that you often say that in jail, your mind is your worst enemy? Or if you were a trading company, you would represent a whole range of products. This is a resort that we are doing with Mandai Park Holdings. 1:53:45. Mr Ho has received multiple awards such as the London Business School Entrepreneurship Award; CEO of the Year at the Singapore Corporate Awards; CNBC Travel Business Leader Award ; Distinguished Alumnus Award from the National University of Singapore; and Lifetime Achievement Awards from the American Creativity Association, China Hotel Investment Summit and Australia Hotel Investment Summit. Mr Ho Kwon Ping, founding Executive Chairman of Banyan Tree Holdings, an international hospitality business, founding Chairman of Singapore Management University, former journalist at the Far Eastern Economic Review, has worn many hats over the course of his long and illustrious career. Mexico is very close to what Thailand is like and both the countries have very unique cultures, with natural resources and cultural attractions. You have to move on in life. That if I did this I would lose a lot of money and almost go bankrupt. Mr Kenny Loh Mr Kenny Loh. Instead, for us, it is a super prime location, and we are excited to be a part of it. Ho Kwon Ping at CreativeMornings Singapore, June 2015. It was 6 years ago that I wrote Some Day, a short essay on the gay rights movement in Singapore. Since then I have not been jailed, thankfully. If it is responsible and something serious and you’re saying it seriously and you’ve thought it through and asked why and can defend it, then by all means, say it and do it. But my point would be: if you can’t take the heat, don’t be in the kitchen. What’s new? Mr Ho: I was recently asked at a talk what I would say would be the worst thing that could happen to the young generation today, and my reply was that it’s not that they will be invaded or become poor, it’s that all of them as a cohort will sleepwalk through life: comfortable, not really aware of what’s really happening, not passionate about anything, then one day, they wake up and say, “What did I really do? Associate Development. My whole point to young people is: find a purpose. What do you wish you had known before you started out on your careers. He is the executive chairman of Banyan Tree Holdings, a Singapore-based leisure business group, which owns both listed and private companies engaged in the development, ownership and operation of hotels, resorts, spas, residential homes, retail galleries and other lifestyle activities in the region. This supports the point that whenever you have a varied career, and you end up doing something – you may have been a chef and then you end up a banker – in some odd way, though you will never realise until maybe later on in life when you look back, but your experience as a chef probably, in some way, influenced you and made you different as a banker. I got in trouble at Stanford because of my being sceptical of the Vietnam War and in fact, in retrospect, I think I’ve been proven right compared to the Singapore establishment of that time, which thought that Vietnam was fighting a war of Communism and if the Vietnamese won the war – which they did – it would lead to the Domino Theory. There are also a lot of people on social media who say the most utterly ridiculous stuff – that’s not responsible. Of course, those who can are those who are very, very strong – people who endure detention who have a strong belief system, who know why they’re there and so they can reinforce themselves. It was also what the Americans felt, and what people like myself were protesting against because we thought it was a war of national unification, and that if they won, they would just stop there. They refused to confess and for that, they stayed in jail for 20 over years. That if I did this I would be thrown out. ASSOCIATED SITES. IPS-Nathan Lecture III - Security and Sustainability by Mr Ho Kwon Ping - Duration: 1:53:45. Your Excellency Honourable Prime Minister Dasho Tshering Tobgay, Prime Minister of Bhutan, Your Excellency Dr Sri Mulyani Indrawati, Finance Minister of Indonesia, Banyan Tree Group’s hotels are not showy or flashy hotels. Main photo: Former SMU Chancellor Mr Yong Pung (2nd from left) standing next to his official portrait which will be hung in the SMU Boardroom, together with (left to right) SMU Chairman Mr Ho Kwon Ping, SMU Chancellor Mr J Y Pillay and SMU President Prof Arnoud De Meyer. If you lose it all then, we lose it all. In all these occasions, Mr Ho’s conviction to speak truth to power prevailed. I think that’s a useful point for young people to remember. In the process of answering this question, it helps you a little bit more in terms of how you study and where you want to go etc. So I got in there – a stupid student at 19 years old – got thrown out. Hindsight is always 20/20, but we’re always myopic in the moment. You should just move on. We innovated quite a bit, but innovation doesn’t drop from the sky. First of all, we are not the investor. By the same token, Singapore Zoo and its sister wildlife parks in the Mandai area today are the top attractions in Singapore. He cited how the chairman of resort developer Banyan Tree, Mr Ho Kwon Ping, had said in an interview with Channel NewsAsia (CNA) published … The Culture Embassy Pte Ltd met up with Mr Ho Kwon Ping to find out his inspirations behind the founding of Singapore’s hospitality group, Banyan Tree Holdings and the future plans for the company. So, in our context, I fully support many of the restraints on free speech that we have in Singapore, but not all. Mr Ho joined the Banyan Tree Group (“BT Group”) as Associate Director of Corporate Development in 2010. They are designed to evoke the culture and beauty of the place, and we won’t change that because we have to keep faith with our customers who come to us because of who we are. At that time, my views would have been very opposed in Singapore. Executive Chairman of Banyan Tree Holdings: Mr Ho Kwon Ping. In jail, I was held in solitary confinement with no sense of day or night because the lights are on all the time, and no human interaction – you are taken out to go to the loo, taken out to go take a shower. Those times are not the times as these times. But I thought that instead of building 300 rooms, let’s just build a few villas which would be much cheaper. It was, though, not always so smooth and successful a ride. I didn’t even mention this in my book, but there in National Service, I also got into trouble and went to the Detention Barracks for it. One should just be practical. You have an idea what to do but it’s like the analogy of surfing. Mr. Ho Kwon Ping, the Founder and Executive Chairman of Banyan Tree Holdings and Laguna Resorts and Hotels, and Executive Chairman of Thai Wah Public Company, is to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award from HICAP. Image courtesy of Mandai Park Holdings. Ho Kwon Ping is the founder of Banyan Tree, a worldwide chain of luxury resorts based in Asia. Main photo: Former SMU Chancellor Mr Yong Pung (2nd from left) standing next to his official portrait which will be hung in the SMU Boardroom, together with (left to right) SMU Chairman Mr Ho Kwon Ping, SMU Chancellor Mr J Y Pillay and SMU President Prof Arnoud De Meyer. PHOTO: Getty Images. If you were a city hotel, you would never consider Mandai. They did not want to confess. You have to know the boundaries, and to me, I really accept and fully support those boundaries. Back then, there was nothing much in Phuket. Mr Ho: My family’s my purpose. Which of the many fields in which you are a leader - civil society, business, education and academia, and journalism - do you hold to be key to who you are? There will be some delays due to the pandemic, but it is a very long project that requires long-term planning. Mr Yong Pung How, SMU Chancellor 2011–15. He was the Economics Editor of the Far Eastern Economic Review in Hong Kong before he joined the family business in 1981. The line between being sucked into something and believing in something, the line between a fervent young idealist and crossing that line to become something of a terrorist or just something you would regret, isn’t that broad a line. The point here for young people is that: don’t worry too much if you switch careers a little bit – of course, there’s those who do it excessively – but in your early life, if you do many things out of genuine interest, don’t worry too much because all that varied work somehow will come back to make you different from the next guy. He is also the founding and current Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Singapore Management University and Chairman of The Singapore Summit. I got charged because I shouted and screamed at my officers, because I thought they were mistreating us, so I basically screamed an expletive at him. For someone now running a large multinational company, Ho Kwon Ping's early career is perhaps surprising. Business 13 Jul 20. Ironically, I ask that question ‘Why do I study?’ with the same simplicity as a three-year-old, but with much greater depth in my answer. If you want to tap their market, you have to go to them. There is space in Singapore for you to do it. When you got nothing, the challenges aren’t so bad. You can never really plan your business completely. Mr Ho Kwon Ping. However, we immediately thought of Mandai in the same way that we did when we started our hotel in Lijiang, China. In NUS, I was asking why not about NUS itself because I was a mature student so I didn’t really study very hard because I was repeating my course as they wouldn’t accept my credits from Stanford. Lijiang reflected many aspects of the Chinese culture and the beauty of its natural landscape. Mr Ho Kwon Ping, SMU Chairman, at the launch of the SMU School of Law building on Wednesday, 15 March 2017 Guest of Honour, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong; The Honourable the Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon; Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen; A very good morning to all of you. I’ve encouraged civil society groups not to try to be fashionable and make irresponsible comments about the government, which I think is plainly unwise. Educated in Tunghai University, Taiwan; Stanford University, California and the University of Singapore, he was the Economics Editor of the Far Eastern Economic Review in Hong Kong before joining the Thai Wah family business and then venturing out on his own to start the hospitality brand, Banyan Tree. For youth who are idealistic today, there is room and space in Singapore, actually, for you to express yourself. Mexicans themselves are naturally very hospitable people, like the Thais. Mr Ho Kwon Ping, Chairman of the SMU Board of Trustees, wrote in a commentary that while an elected president may have only custodial powers and ceremonial responsibilities, he may bear the burden of articulating the voice of the nation at its proudest, and rallying its people at the most dire of times. Mr. Ho Kwon Ping, Banyan Tree Co-Founder . That might require some skill, but a lot also hinges on luck where he has caught the right timing, the perfect wave and then he rides it all the way to shore. For his services to his home country Singapore, Mr Ho has been decorated with the Meritorious Service Medal and the Distinguished Service Order by the Singapore government. What advice would you have for entrepreneurs today? Mr Ho Kwon Ping. editor 2019-06-12T04:25:32+00:00. In Cuba, for example, we got two properties open, and two properties under construction. Advisory is a fully youth-led non-profit dedicated to empowering young Singaporeans to make informed decisions about their futures. Our hotels are full of culture. Explore celebrity trends and tips on fashion, style, beauty, diets, health, relationships and more. Being an avid writer, he has also penned two books: Australian export sectors facing challenges in international trade, Singapore’s hawker culture included on UNESCO intangible cultural heritage list, Banyan Tree Group Stays Resilient Amidst An Extended Recovery Outlook, Louis Vuitton to open store in Italian ski resort Cortina. Again, it was a confluence of luck and opportunity. You’re disoriented in time also because sometimes it’s bright 24 hours round the clock so you could be starving and have no food and then you could get meals when you’re full. The thing is that there’s no external stimuli. Mr Ho Kwon Ping is the Founder and Executive Chairman of Banyan Tree Holdings and Laguna Resorts and Hotels, and Executive Chairman of Thai Wah Public Company. Mr Ho has had many run-ins with the authorities: first at Stanford University in America while he was an undergraduate, then during his National Service and later under the Internal Security Act while studying at the National University of Singapore as an undergraduate again, having left Stanford after his run-in with the authorities. SMU is a collective legacy – so many people have been involved in SMU – of a living, thriving community of students, alumni, faculty who share values. Copyright © 2020. Then, by luck, my wife, my brother and I were walking around Phuket in the 1980s. Mr Ho: The lie I was telling myself was that I was this revolutionary that was going to go and help change the world. You are naked to yourself. He is also the founding and current Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Singapore Management University and Chairman of The Singapore Summit. It’s a spirit and an approach – a methodology. Free events like this one are hosted every month in dozens of cities. It is not against our values if we were to do a resort with a vineyard in Mexico or California. Leisure 13 Jul 20. I found time to get a girlfriend, get a motorbike and start writing articles about the political system – that got me into trouble and got me jailed. You also have to look at innovation. All content published on this website is the sole and exclusive property of, and belongs to, Advisory, the originator of the content unless stated otherwise, and cannot be reproduced, in part or whole, on any other platform, and in any language or medium, without the express consent of Advisory issued prior in written correspondence. Being able to control it is not an easy thing to do. The interview played out in CNBC's latest episode of … Do you find that your approach to asking why, because it hasn’t always gotten you success, has changed or been nuanced over the years? I’ll see what the future brings. They are building a new Bird Park, and this huge project is part of the government’s plans to rejuvenate the Mandai precinct into an integrated wildlife and nature destination. I came across a humongous piece of land and there were no drones back then, so we had no idea what the land looked like. Mr. Ho Kwon Ping is the Executive Chairman of Banyan Tree Holdings, a Singapore-based premium hospitality brand with global business interests. The Art of Culture in Hospitality. Of course, part of my asking why would be: ‘Why do you have such views?’, ‘Why are you able to propagate these views?’, ‘Why should we not engage you in a debate?’. Driving towards a fully autonomous vehicular world. What would you like to see in the next generation? I was supposed to be the Sword of Honour recipient but I got downgraded and almost kicked out for this staging of a little bit of a mutiny. at Shangri-La Hotel, Singapore. I don’t think COVID-19 has changed the fundamental topography of the seabed. Mr Ho: I think I ask why just as sceptically of things as I have always done, but I don’t necessarily act on it as foolhardily as I did in the past: write articles and throw stones, get me thrown in jail in America, thrown in jail in Singapore, get thrown out of university. Asking why is not a one-off thing; it’s a continuing, circuitous reasoning. While you are out there, the waves keep coming towards you and you have to find a way to get on the waves and ride it. I clearly wasn’t going to be that, so I was pretty quickly honest with myself and saying, ‘You just get out and start life over again’. Mandai Park Holdings and Banyan Tree said the hotel will be … If you ask what defines me, I won’t say journalism defines me because that was a starting career, I would probably say it’s education, with Singapore Management University (SMU), and business, with Banyan Tree. Mr Ho was appointed Director on 6 May 2020. Even if we do adopt a more stylish approach to our brand voice, the culture of our company stays the same – not to brag about ourselves and to be garish, but more to be authentic, and highlight our brands’ DNAs in relevance to the themes emerging in the market in an authentic way. 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