On this Christmas Day, our CEO Outlook features three entrepreneurs who have reasons for good cheer.
They are Tan Sri Chua Hock Chin of Road Builder Bhd, Datin Irene Gan of Reliance Pacific Bhd, and Datuk Liu Thim Soon of Dancom Group.
Formerly an engineer with the JKR, Chua was one of the founders of Road Builder. Within 10 years, he has built it into a much respected infrastructure group, through his entrepreneurship and professionalism.
The group now has four thriving core businesses: tolls, port management, construction, and properties.
Gan, together with husband, Datuk Gan Eng Kwong (chairman), has been the driving force behind the success of Reliance Pacific, Malaysia’s biggest tourist operator with a strong hotel and leisure division.
The group has made a very quick turnaround from the SARS crisis, and is looking forward to a great year ahead, with all its divisions projecting strong growth.
Two innovative products developed in recent years are its network of franchisee offices and its online travel portal.
Liu went into the telecommunications business after he got tired of working for a Japanese firm, which required him to travel six months in a year.
It was back in 1985 when the government was opening up the telecommunications industry. His Dancall mobile phones were hulks by today’s standards, but in those days, they were only for the VVIPs, coming with a price tag of RM15,000 per unit.
Even today, he is known as “Dancall Liu” in the industry.
Dancom is now a diversified telecommunications and IT solutions supplier with a workforce of 1,400. In Pakistan, 25,000 payphones use equipment supplied by Dancom.
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