It was not an easy feat, and Liew spent hours walking around the streets of London, personally checking on property prices before making the bid to take over Battersea in 2012. This was to ensure that he put in the right price for the bid.
Liew, who is the president and chief executive officer of S P Setia Bhd, also holds a 3% equity stake, according to Bloomberg.
S P Setia and Sime Darby Bhd have 40% each in the Battersea project, while theEmployees Provident Fund holds the remaining 20%. It was roaring sales for the first batch of apartments, and by April 2014, Battersea will open for sale 250 units of luxury apartments that could be priced at £2,500 per sq ft.
But that is not the only thing that Liew has to mull over in 2014.
His biggest decision is whether to complete 2014 at S P Setia or opt to leave earlier. His contract at S P Setia ends in 2015.
This is a company he has been with for 17 years until 2011 when Permodalan Nasional Bhd surprised him with a takeover offer. Although it was revised later, it drove a wedge between both parties.
Many are betting on him leaving earlier than 2015.
As he steers S P Setia, his eldest son, Liew Tian Xiong, and some business associates have been grabbing the headlines with the establishment of Eco World Development Holdings Sdn Bhd.
Eco World’s takeover of Focal Aims Holdings Bhd created enough buzz for the stock price to jump to more than RM3 in December from merely 60 sen in September.
Eco World has accumulated over 1,214ha of land in Penang, Johor and the Klang Valley with a gross development value of RM30bil.
Focal Aims seems to be Liew’s private vehicle, and if he does leave S P Setia early, will he emerge in Eco World?
If he does exit S P Setia in 2014, the other question looming is: Will there be someone with his expertise, persona and experience to push Battersea ahead, although S P Setia deputy president Datuk Voon Tin Yow is slated to take over?
BY B.K. SIDHU, thestar.com.my
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