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00:00As Dave mentioned earlier, strong set of numbers for the first time. The question really is whether that pace of growth is sustainable in the second half and of course in 2023. Given the challenging environment, I think the pace of growth will depend very much on the external environment. It would be it would be difficult to produce the same set of numbers, primarily because the very good results are the culmination of many years of hard work from one particular transaction. But if you're talking about growth momentum, I think we are on a fairly good stay steady Staples State. Having said that, a lot depends on the external environment. So it's a it's a bit like a car. I'd venture to say we have a good car where we're diversified. Right. We've got good drivers. The team is good. But a lot depends on what we know, what it's like outside. If it's hail. If it's sleet, we're going to drive slowly. We're not going to ride. Well, what is what does the road look like? For now, it looks uncertain. So it could. It's one of those funny days where you can't quite tell the weather. If we have the interest rate hikes, if it leads to a recession, it's going to be a bumpy road. If we have a smooth do a soft downturn, I think we should manage quite nicely. And if we are litigating the risk out there, the risk of inflation, slower growth globally, I wouldn't say when mitigating we're getting prepared. So we were diversified and we're very flexible. So we try to tell everybody to be resourceful, resilient and to, you know, to be relevant. So how we do it is this first of all, finances are sound. We make sure that we've locked in some of the interest rates and our loans. Second, we we don't look at our business as just, oh, I do offices. We provide space. What do people want at this current time? So if we go into a recession, we have retail space that will probably target the lower end and people will be spending. Know we have hotels that are doing three to four star. So you knew I wouldn't say mitigate, but you try to react and modify and remain relevant for the current situation. Right. So your your position looking at just very short term and it's a short term maybe next year or so, is it more or are you looking more at revenue growth? Is it more cost? Because that's a proxy, I guess, of how you view the outlook for next year. I would be looking at revenue growth as well as cost management, but we have always been very mindful of cost management. Where do you see opportunities? I mean, you're in real estate, in property. Given the weakness in currencies, in the pound, in the yen, might you be interested in acquiring assets? Yes, we have already we actually acquired assets during Covid in U.K., so we benefited from that. But we ISE Japan and we'll be looking at new opportunities there. We have also beyond just opportunistic purchases. We're also looking at the longer term, for example, with the the bifurcation of supply chains. We are looking at a lot just sticks. And we're in East Asia. We're in Korea. In Japan, which is something people have not did not look at previously. And we're also looking at Asian infrastructure in Southeast Asia. So this will be a longer term play. But as you know, a lot businesses have moved to Penang, to Malaysia, and we're looking and we've already started development there. We're also looking at opportunities where you can switch. So public equities are very cheap. And we have a fund whereby we're looking at giving people the opportunity to invest in public equities or an ETF. We're also looking at ESG. So we have an electric mobility fund. We're also looking at how we can value add to buildings by making them more environmental environmentally friendly. And finally, we're also looking to see how we can offer individual investors ways to participate in all of this. My question was, how do you find time for all of that? We have a very busy day for you in terms of you mentioned financing. You've locked in a lot of that. I mean, this year has been really tricky for a company in terms of financing. Are you done fund raising? One is never done fundraising. Tell us more. Sorry. Tell us more. What with what I was able to keep financing because it looks like you're gonna be spending a lot of money. I would say that you're never done fundraising because we can always do more. There are many options for us and we'll explore. Various options. One of them is looking for ways in which individual shareholders can join us and participate in what we're doing. So we're looking at fractional icing real estate to see where the people can participate in that. We've created a shareholders club whereby we're trying to get our shareholders more engaged so that they can participate not just in buying shares, but I fully participate in individual ventures. These will, of course, have to be subject to all the, you know, the S regulations. Sikkim. China is front and center given developments there. I mean, you have exposure in China given the changing role. I'm just wondering, what's your take on what's happening in China and perhaps investment opportunities? It's very tricky with China because a lot depends on what the Chinese government will decide. But interestingly, the more is doing well, primarily because people can't travel. So we're seeing seeing, you know, good spending and good foot traffic. And the more. Will it change when China opens up? I think we will benefit more because more people be running around. But we do have lockdowns from time to time. So at that time, things will just come down and then it picks up again on China. I'm optimistic. After the People's Congress, it looks as though the Chinese government is prepared to continue to grow the economy. But on their terms, has the uncertainty made it difficult to craft a longer term strategy on China? What are your plans as far as your exposure and assets? Yes, I think the the uncertainty has made it difficult in the sense that we're not sure what the holiday will treat foreign investment, how we can exit when the time comes. What their views are on currency. I think that's going to be a big uncertainty. Will it be a disaster? I don't think so. I think the Chinese government will have to have foreign investment. It's a question of how to adapt to their new rules. So if you take a longer term perspective, why it might look attractive to you when you take a valuations at this point in time, you mean in China or China? In China, the real estate is cheap. The shares are cheap. Would I go in now? I need to have a better sense of what the rules are going to be. I think a lot depends on what the rules are going to be. But certainly real estate looks cheap and equity still very low. Do I take it then you're actively looking at real estate assets because you alluded to that. We are actively looking all the time, but we look at so many things and in the end, we are very selective. You might look at 30 before you even choose one. You might look at in China, I might look at 50 and not touch anything and decide to wait. So that's it. A lot depends on our sense of risk and reward. At that time. Kim, just one final question before we let you go. As we look towards 2023, what is the biggest risk out there for you? I think the biggest risk I think the biggest downside for us would be markets, because it would hit valuations. I would call it a risk because we will survive that. You know, things get valued up and down and I'm confident we will survive. But in terms of downside pain, valuations are high. Interest rates is going to be painful.

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Straits Trading Sees New Opportunities in Japan: Chew

Chew Gek Khim, executive chairman at The Straits Trading Company, discusses the company’s growth strategy, the outlook for next year and where she’s finding opportunities. She speaks exclusively on Bloomberg Television. (Source: Bloomberg)

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