12 March 2008
Tang brothers aim to nurse sick buildings
back to health
Learning the ropes
The brothers recognise that they had an important head start in business, thanks
to their businessman father, but it has certainly not been plain sailing all the way.
Their father, now 72, suffered a stroke in 1984 that left him incapacitated for a
few months. He has since recovered but his mobility is still poor.
'Unfortunately, because of our dad's illness, we had to learn a lot of things from
the deep end.
'We were also impacted by the 1997 financial crisis. That strengthened our
resolve,' says Jeffrey.
While declining to give specific details, the brothers say challenges they have
faced include the time they had to downsize the family's restaurant business from
six outlets to just one - Tang Court at the RELC Building in Orange Grove Road -
when the financial crisis hit.
'Being in a family business allows us more autonomy but it also gives us more
risks when we were young and impressionable,' says Keith, who is the eldest of
two boys and three girls.
'The secret of our business success is failure.'
Jeffrey, who is the fourth child in the family, is married with two girls and a boy.
He says he and his brother could have just 'sat back', given their financial
position.
'But working hard every day was an important part of our upbringing. We just
want to be good stewards of our money.
'Our Christian faith and our operating integrity are the key to any business,' he
adds.
When working, the brothers say they complement each other with their different
skill sets.
'Mine is the devil in the details while Keith is more of a visionary,' says Jeffrey.
Keith, who is married with two teenage sons, says he is the 'resources man'.
If they were not running businesses, Jeffrey says he would probably work at a
charity as 'my faith is very important to me'.
'Knowing Keith, he will probably be helping all the siblings. He's a very good big
brother.'
For now, apart from building up IEQ, the brothers may work on adding one or two
more hotels to the hospitality chain in New Zealand before expanding it to
Australia.
The annual revenue for their hotel business is in excess of NZ$90 million (S$99.3
million).
IEQ's first full-year revenue in 2008 is expected to reach $3 million, though the
firm is yet to be in the black.
The most important thing is, the brothers say they are enjoying their work.
As Keith, executive director of IEQ, puts it: 'To sit and relax, I don't know how
that feels.'
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