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Straits Times
4 hours ago
- Straits Times
Places Of The Heart: Wander and wonder at Changi Airport with architect Jonathan Christian Chin
Find out what's new on ST website and app. Who: Mr Jonathan Christian Chin, 34, is a Singapore-registered architect who has amassed an award-winning portfolio that includes public, residential, mixed-use and civic space design through his local and international stints. He graduated from the National University of Singapore's (NUS) Department of Architecture in 2017 with a master's degree in architecture. During his time there , he garnered honours such as the Lee Kip Lin Medal for Best Graduation Dissertation in History and Theory of Architecture, and the Aedas Medal and Prize in Architectural Design. After graduating, he worked at acclaimed architectural practices such as DP Architects (DPA) in Singapore and Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) in Copenhagen. In 2021, outside of work, he co-created a place-making installation, called Park Yourself, with his wife Pearlyn Chang, who is 31 and a landscape architect. Their design of an Instagrammable, pandemic-resilient playground – which was shown at indoor and outdoor spaces around Singapore – won the URA-Redas Spark Challenge award in 2021. It also received the Singapore Good Design Award in 2023, attesting to Mr Chin's commitment to inclusive, community-focused design. Architect Jonathan Chin with his wife Pearlyn Chang, a landscape architect, at their award-winning installation Park Yourself. PHOTO: COURTESY OF JONATHAN CHIN In 2022, he joined BIG, headquartered in Denmark's capital, to expand his perspective on sustainability and radical innovation. In Copenhagen, he collaborated with some of the brightest minds in the industry and worked on architectural projects across Europe and Asia, gaining insights into differing design methodologies and cultures. Mr Jonathan Chin at Bjarke Ingels Group's office in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 2023. PHOTO: PEARLYN CHANG Based in Singapore, Mr Chin works independently while giving back to the architectural community by mentoring students as a guest reviewer at NUS. He also serves as a council member at the Singapore Institute of Architects, where he champions young architects and fosters a culture of appreciation for good design in Singapore. 'My first choice of a place of the heart would definitely be Changi Airport. It is a space in Singapore where architecture, emotion and memory converge. We all seek different kinds of reprieve. Some people find it in nature, some in retail therapy, others in special architectural spaces. But I have always felt that Changi Airport brings all those worlds together, especially in a city like Singapore, where heat and rapid pace are constants. One gets the greenery without the sweat, the quiet without isolation and the motion without chaos. It is not just about the airport facilities, but also what the space allows: a moment to breathe. In 2022, my wife and I took the big leap to Copenhagen, where both of us were fortunate to join the Bjarke Ingels Group, one of Europe's top design firms, to grow professionally and explore the world. When living abroad for long spells, opportunities to return to Singapore for a break become quite emotional. Walking through Changi after being overseas, I still feel quiet pride. Whenever I return home, I prefer to linger rather than rush to the exit. Sometimes, I wander through Jewel, not to shop or sightsee, but just to walk, wander and wonder. It does not just mark my journeys, but also quietly holds the 'in-between' moments. Those intervals are often where I find the most meaning. Architect Jonathan Chin at Jewel Changi Airport on July 23. ST PHOTO: SHINTARO TAY Changi Airport also holds a treasury of nostalgia for me. As a student, I used to spend late nights at the viewing gallery of Terminal 2 (T2), one of the few 24-hour sanctuaries in Singapore. I would study through the night while watching aircraft take off and land, mindful of the irony that the constant motion of planes against the sky seemed to nudge me to be more focused in my thinking. There is something therapeutic about plane-spotting – the rhythm of arrivals and departures mirroring the cadence of life. Also, my relationship with the airport is both personal and inherited. When I was growing up , my father Ignatius Chin worked at Changi Airport Group (CAG) as part of a team involved in the construction of Jewel from 2014 to 2019, a chapter of his career he is incredibly proud of. Although he is no longer with us, those scenes are etched in memory, shaping my understanding of urban spaces and belonging. He regaled us with tales about Jewel's design process, the immense coordination that went on behind the scenes and tiny details such as how they designed the Skytrain to pass through what is now called the Shiseido Forest Valley; and the complexity of the contiguous grid shell of the dome that had an outsize design impact. At the time, I did not fully grasp the significance, but I remember how animated he became when recounting his experiences. Through him, I later had the rare opportunity to meet the architect behind Jewel, Mr Moshe Safdie. As a student back then, I was still trying to understand what architecture meant beyond drawings and deadlines. Mr Safdie was warm and insightful, and the encounter left an indelible imprint by humanising architecture for me. Mr Jonathan Chin with Mr Moshe Safdie at Changi Airport in 2014. Mr Safdie led the design of Jewel Changi Airport. PHOTO: IGNATIUS CHIN It then became clear that Jewel was not just a building. It was also an idea that brought people together through light, landscape and scale. When friends visit from overseas, I do not just pick them up from the airport. I also guide them through the different terminals, starting from Jewel. If it is an early morning arrival, the tour starts with a leisurely breakfast at Ya Kun Kaya Toast, with cups of locally roasted coffee and pillowy toasted bread. Stepping into Changi Airport, whether travel-related or simply for a quiet break, helps me to reset my perspectives. Today, even when I am not travelling, I visit Changi regularly as I live in the eastern part of the island. I find that cycling via the Jurassic Mile helps me decompress after a long day at work. Other times, I catch a late-night film at the basement of Terminal 3, which has round-the-clock screenings of movies and live sports events. Growing up with the aviation landmark in the background shaped how I view space today. My father's stories and my own quiet rituals are fragments that form a larger collage centred on connection. Changi Airport is the place where I first learnt that architecture can move people – both literally and metaphorically. '
Business Times
6 hours ago
- Business Times
The rise and fall of New Silk Road, one of the longest-running hedge funds in Singapore
[SINGAPORE] Investment management firm New Silk Road announced earlier in July that it will be closing its doors after a 16-year run in Asia. Based in Singapore, it is one of the longest-running hedge funds in the city-state. It is the investment manager of the Asia Landmark Fund, which has onshore and offshore investment structures for US and international investors through a Cayman LP and Cayman offshore feeder fund. So what caused New Silk Road to shutter, and who are its founders? The Business Times explains, and also takes a look at what hedge funds are, and this industry in Singapore. The origins of New Silk Road, and who are its founders? Founded in 2009, the company was started by Raymond Goh, the former head of Asian equities at GIC, and Hoong Yik Luen, the former head of Hong Kong-China equity products at Deutsche Bank. New Silk Road in its early stages was considered a pioneer in the finance scene of Singapore. For context, the Republic's hedge fund market managed S$59 billion pre-2010s, which has since grown to S$327 billion as at December 2024, based on data from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). Goh and Hoong's hedge fund is known to be one of the earliest in Singapore to invest long-short equities across Asia. Its strength was being among the early foreign investors in China, via an on‑the‑ground Shanghai team. A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU Friday, 8.30 am Asean Business Business insights centering on South-east Asia's fast-growing economies. Sign Up Sign Up Notably, the company received Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor access in 2012 to invest in Chinese yuan-denominated mainland Chinese stocks and bonds. At the time, fewer than 200 firms received such licences from the China Securities Regulatory Commission. This move attracted a large pool of US institutional investors seeking Asia-centric exposure for their portfolios, drawn to New Silk Road's Asia Landmark Fund and China Fund, New Silk Road's growth trajectory saw an incline since its beginnings, having reached nearly US$2 billion in assets under management in 2021. Goh and Hoong are among the first pioneers in setting up an Asia focused hedge fund. Goh was previously with GIC for 18 years, according to his LinkedIn profile. Hoong graduated from the National University of Singapore (NUS) with an electrical engineering degree in 1990. Following that, he was in a few roles involving public and private market equity research and investment with various global firms, according to the NUS website. After his last role as the head of Hong Kong-China equity products at Deutsche Bank in 2008, he co-founded New Silk Road Investment with Goh. Both are crossing 60 years old, Hoong told Bloomberg. China investment slump Hoong told Bloomberg that the main reason for the shuttering of the fund is that they are opting for a slower pace. However, the fund's struggles also came during a time when China markets went into a slump, with China's widespread regulatory crackdown across sectors such as technology and real estate, and investors flocking to US markets. In 2022, China's benchmark CSI 300 Index tumbled by 22 per cent, with the decline extending into 2023. This affected various China investors and caused many funds to close. The China bear market persisted for a couple of years, but has since rebounded this year. Both the Asia Landmark Fund and the China Fund recorded negative returns for three of the past five years, with slumps of 28 per cent and 19 per cent, respectively, in 2022, according to Bloomberg, citing sources. These effects were clearly felt by New Silk Road, where it scaled back on staff levels in Shanghai, and closed a recently launched South-east Asia fund, said Hoong. The number of staff affected remained undisclosed. The closure of Hoong and Goh's hedge fund was announced on Jul 22, where all remaining capital will be returned to investors and the vehicles will be shuttered, amid a high level of investor redemptions and weak returns. Experts BT spoke to suggested that once a certain level of investor redemptions is hit, it is difficult for hedge funds to build back their capital. New Silk Road is not the only one to have gone through a rocky decline in Asia in the recent few years, though for a mix of other reasons. Another Singapore hedge fund Asia Genesis, for example, in January 2024 faced a significant level of drawdowns, in the light of its long positions in Hong Kong and China collapsing due to China's market rout, and short bets on the Nikkei crushed as Japan stocks surged to a 34-year high that month. The Asia Genesis Macro fund saw drawdowns of 18.8 per cent within the first weeks of January 2024 following its long-short play went wrong. The fund closed all its positions by Jan 18, 2024, and returned money after its losses to investors. What is a hedge fund, and what are some top hedge funds in Singapore? Within Asia-Pacific, Singapore continues to be an attractive centre for alternative and hedge fund managers to set up their regional investment teams, said MAS last year. The regulator noted that more global hedge fund managers are setting up offices here, with more than 250 of such managers as at the end of 2023. Some top hedge fund managers in Singapore include Quantedge Capital and Dymon Asia Capital. Dymon Asia manages over US$3.5 billion, while Quantedge manages more than US$4 billion. Dymon says its fund posted an 8 per cent return through May this year, topping other funds at global peers. Last year, it was up 17 per cent. Another long-running Singapore hedge fund manager is APS Capital Management, with its founder Wong Kok Hoi also considered an early pioneer in the scene. He was previously with GIC and MAS. Hedge funds are private funds actively managed by portfolio managers, and typically are considered higher-risk and requires a higher investment to start. There are many types of hedge funds, with various strategies ranging from long-short, global macro and multi-strategy. They can invest in a variety of assets, including stocks, fixed income, real estate, currencies and futures. The Singapore hedge fund market totalled S$327 billion as at December, according to data from MAS.
Straits Times
6 hours ago
- Straits Times
Microsoft Singapore managing director Lee Hui Li dies while on sabbatical
Find out what's new on ST website and app. SINGAPORE - Lee Hui Li, managing director of Microsoft Singapore, has died, shortly after going on sabbatical from her role in May. Her age could not be independently verified. An obituary seen by The Business Times stated that Ms Lee passed away on July 24. The wake will be held at the Church of St Ignatius on King's Road from July 25, with the funeral scheduled for July 28, the obituary read. 'Hui Li was a visionary leader whose impact on Microsoft and the broader technology landscape in Singapore was profound. Throughout her career, Hui Li was known not only for her strategic brilliance, but for her warmth, authenticity, and unwavering belief in the potential of others and of Singapore,' a Microsoft spokesperson told The Business Times. 'She mentored countless leaders, built inclusive teams, and inspired all of us to lead with purpose. We extend our heartfelt condolences to Hui Li's family, friends, and colleagues,' the spokesperson said. Ms Lee was appointed managing director of Microsoft Singapore in March 2022, according to her LinkedIn profile. She had announced a sabbatical in May, without disclosing a reason. She had shared on her LinkedIn page two months ago that she would be starting a new position. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore HDB resale price growth moderates in Q2, more flats sold Singapore Etomidate found in blood samples of 2 people involved in fatal Punggol Road accident in May: HSA Asia Live: Thailand-Cambodia border clashes continue for second day Business GIC posts 3.8% annualised return over 20 years despite economic uncertainties Business GIC's focus on long-term value aims to avoid permanent loss amid intensifying economic changes Opinion No idle punt: Why Singapore called out cyber saboteur UNC3886 by name Singapore Prison officer accused of taking bribes to smuggle nude photos, prescription drugs to inmate Sport 'We can match Malaysia or do even better', say Singapore's divers Before taking on the top Singapore role, Ms Lee was general manager of Asia-Pacific enterprise commercial at Microsoft from July 2021 to March 2022, where she led regional sales and industry teams. Her career spanned 27 years and included senior roles at IBM, Symantec, Dell, HP and EY, according to her profile. Ms Lee was based in Singapore and held a degree in economics from the National University of Singapore. In a December 2024 interview with BT, Ms Lee outlined Microsoft's plans to accelerate artificial intelligence adoption in Singapore through customised, industry-specific solutions for large organisations. In a separate interview in April that year, she reflected on her experiences as a female, Asian leader in the male-dominated tech sector. She spoke of her commitment to building a workplace rooted in diversity and inclusivity, and to fostering an environment where differing perspectives are encouraged to challenge groupthink. THE BUSINESS TIMES
