Country Heights wants to tap technology

KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 3): Country Heights Holdings Bhd (CHHB) founder Tan Sri Lee Kim Yew recently announced that he wants to focus on the blockchain and cryptocurrency space.

And the reason for this? “The company has a lot of shareholders’ funds and its gearing is very low. We will find a lot of opportunities by using blockchain, with a new way of funding in the future,” Lee said in a report by The Edge Malaysia.

Explaining why CHHB has been relatively inactive in the property segment compared with its peers, Lee said that the company “has adopted a different approach”.

“You go and see other big developers, now [they] end up with debt. But we have very low debt. Why should we compete and build? It ends up with debt,” he said.

Taking place with these new moves are changes in management. Lee’s son-in-law Datuk Jared Lim has been appointed managing director, while Gerard Lim (not related to Jared) was made independent director. Jared is married to Lee’s eldest daughter, Datin Dian Lee.

Meanwhile, Kevin Chen has been appointed as financial director and Ryan Xu as chief technology director.

The Edge’s report stated that both Chen and Xu have “blockchain background”. Chen co-founded Collinstar Capital in Melbourne, Australia, in 2015, while Xu co-founded Blockchain Global Group in 2014, also in the same city.

Lee’s second daughter Dianna Lee and son Lee Thai Young Matahari remain on the board as deputy chairman and executive director, respectively.

Jared explained that CHHB will integrate the entire Mines township with its platforms through technology adoption.

“For everything that Tan Sri has built all these years, we will just use technology as the main priority to add value to the assets,” he told the business publication.

There are also fresh plans “in the pipeline” for CHHB’s wellness business.

“We are going to further invest and expand it. We will announce it in due course,” Jared said.

Reports reveal that wellness is CHHB’s only profitable segment, recording RM2 million in profit for the first half of 2020.

Lee also urged the authorities to revive the country’s tourism industry and “re-examine” the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) scheme. MM2H has been temporarily suspended.

“After Covid-19, all the hotel operators must start changing. We have to try to attract people from overseas for long-term stay here.

“We target high-net-worth individuals for long-term stays. We can use technology to make people feel safe and secure,” he said.

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Read the full report in this week’s The Edge Malaysia