Staying grounded

As the next generation at the head of their family business, Ho Ren Hua, Ho Ren Yung, and Ho Ren Chun have been deeply influenced by the ethos and spirit of being here for the long-term imbued at the foundation of the business. Over the years, the business has grown used to battling adversity. "As a family business, we've been through three different crises: the 2004 tsunami, 2008 financial crisis, and the COVID-19 pandemic," said Ho Ren Hua. "We're here to stay and we're here for the long term, to weather crises and global events for multiple decades."

They carry on this legacy with a renewed sense of commitment across all 3 platforms of the business entities – Banyan Tree Group, Thai Wah, and the Family Office. “We are very aligned in our sense of what the culture and values are, no matter the platform. And I think it comes from our worldview of the role of business in society as a change agent,” said Ho Ren Yung.

All the decisions, be they about capital investments, the agri-food business, or the hospitality business are taken with the same endeavors and this mindset of being members of society. From this perspective, the COVID crisis was an opportunity for the three siblings to sit together and think through what is important to them and the platforms. It materialized in the form of a family constitution setting out principles and values to draw decision making mechanisms and the ideas to guide future actions. “For our generation it is meant to guide how we see property, family projects, and allocating resources in the future,” said Ho Ren Chun.

With the world soon to go into lockdown, Banyan Tree Group was adamant it would retain its employees and, in turn, secure people's livelihoods. But how would the business navigate its way through the inevitable costs of keeping employees on its books throughout a global pandemic?

To enable the business to keep running and employing people, the management team got straight to work protecting its finances. The result? Banyan Tree Group could retain its staff and continue paying people their wages.

"Whether it's about refinancing or restructuring debt, we'll always try to do the right thing in a crisis," explained Ho Ren Rua. "We've future-proofed the balance sheet, which will enable us to take care of our people and business for the long term."

Amid the tragedy and turmoil of the pandemic, the break in business freed the team to consider strengthening its sustainable investments such as climate mitigation, healthcare, and clean energy. “We work on our brands development and what will be important in 5-10 years, and not just the near future priorities because we have invested in a stewardship of the future,” said Ho Ren Yung.

Ho Ren Chun is confident that investing sustainably won't harm returns: "We can build our family's public markets portfolio to a decent size and get decent returns. At the same time, we're investing in things we believe in."