May 17, 2009
me & my money
Risking it all for electric dream
Engineer leaves job, liquidates investments and uses life savings to set up green tech firm
By Lorna Tan
Mr Lim Kian Wee was not afraid of unemployment when he quit his $200,000 job with Chartered Semiconductor in January last year.
After climbing the corporate ladder for 15 years, the industrial engineering graduate set his sights on building green technology firm Ample, based on developing and marketing a power management system for plug-in hybrid electric cars that run on both electricity and fuel.
By next year, he wants to develop the world's best electric car that can cover about 900km per charge per tank. Conventional electric cars at the moment are capable of running about 550km per charge per tank.
The quest has come at great personal sacrifice. Mr Lim, 36, sold his property, liquidated his $100,000 stock portfolio and an insurance policy, and took out his retirement savings. He also put his pursuit of a master's degree in finance on hold to fund his dream. Still sourcing for venture funds and government grants, he and his American partner, Mr Ted Flittner, currently work without pay.
He aims to raise more than US$40 million (S$59 million) in two years but is looking to get US$3 million first.
In 1994, Mr Lim graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from Mississippi State University. He is married to Singaporean Yanti Tianadi, 43, general manager at fashion house Valentino Singapore. The couple married in 2007 and they have no children.
Q: Are you a spender or a saver?
I strike a balance between spending and saving. However, I am a net saver. I would typically set aside 20 per cent of my income for savings and investments. I contribute another 10 per cent to the church.
Q: How much do you charge to your credit cards every month?
In the past, I would charge about $3,000 to my credit cards and pay up fully each month. ATM cash withdrawals reached around $1,000 a month. Now, I charge below $1,000 to my credit cards, and it is mainly to cover business expenses.
Q: What financial planning have you done for yourself?
At the tail end of 2007, I decided to relinquish almost all of my investments in order to start up Ample. I still have another stock portfolio which I share with my dad in Malaysia. To date, I have passed him about RM200,000 (S$83,000) to invest since early 2000. The portfolio, which includes Malaysian shares like Fan, Getting and Berate Sports Too, made money till the middle of last year. Now, it's down 20 per cent to 30 per cent.
I put US$250,000 in Ample, and I believe this investment will grow many folds in the near future. My American partner is an ex-colleague in Western Digital, and he invested US$100,000 in Ample.
As for insurance, I have only a medical plan now.
Q: Moneywise, what were your growing-up years like?
I am the eldest child in a family of six. Both of my parents are savers. They came from poor families and became financially free through savings and investments.
Dad was a founding member of Malaysian retail giant Mun Loong before he set up a textile wholesale enterprise on his own. He ran that for three years before becoming a full-time stock investor. He was good at it and made more money from his stock investments than his previous two businesses.
Through the gains from his investments, he was able to send all my siblings and me overseas for tertiary education. We lived in a shophouse in Kuala Lumpur.
My mother was a housewife. My parents taught me to be thrifty. We did not go for holidays, and eating out was rare.
Q: How did you get interested in investing?
I first learnt about investing through my dad, but there was no structure to it. He relies on news, inside stories, charts and others. Earlier on in my career, I put aside my yearly bonus and let my dad invest it for me.
Later, I started studying investing on my own, reading up on the investment approaches of financial gurus Warren Buffett and Peter Lynch. I also attended investment courses at the Singapore Exchange and learnt about value investing and technical analysis.
Q: What property do you own?
I used to own a 2,500 sq ft, two-storey terrace house in Petaling Jaya, Kuala Lumpur. I bought it at RM248,000 in 2002 and sold it at RM450,000 five years later. I don't own any property now.
Q: What's the most extravagant thing you have bought?
It is an engagement ring for my wife. I bought it in 2007 from Tiffany and it cost $17,000. It's a blessing to be married.
Q: What's your retirement plan?
Currently, my wealth is vested in Ample. Once the business stabilises, however, I will resume my investments in stocks, property and life insurance. I aim to achieve financial independence by the time I am 40, but I want to continue being active in my business as it is no longer a job but a passion.
I expect to need just under $10,000 per month in my golden years for my wife and me, as we love to travel and be involved in some philanthropy activities.
Q: Home is now...
It is a 1,200 sq ft, two-storey terrace house at Chip Bee Gardens. We rent it from Jurong Town Corporation for $3,500 a month.
Q: I drive...
A blue electric car from the United States. The vehicle, with a Californian licence plate MAGIC EV, has a 27 kilowatt-hour battery pack. It costs the equivalent of 30 cents per litre, compared to $1.60 for a normal sedan.
WORST AND BEST BETS
Q: What is your worst investment to date?
I invested less than $5,000 in thumb-drive maker Trek 2000 International and lost half of it within six months from March to September 2004.
After that, I changed the way I selected my stocks. I shifted from listening to rumours and hot tips to analysing firms based on their financial ratios and fundamentals.
Q: And your best investment?
After attending a Singapore Exchange course in 2004, I invested about $50,000 to $70,000 in OCBC Bank and Straits Trading shares.
The latter was bought at $2.07 in June 2004 and I achieved about 43 per cent returns when I sold the shares after two years.
I bought OCBC shares at $6.75 each in February 2006 and sold them at $9.01 each a year later.
WORST AND BEST BETS
Q: What is your worst investment to date?
I invested less than $5,000 in thumb-drive maker Trek 2000 International and lost half of it within six months from March to September 2004.
After that, I changed the way I selected my stocks. I shifted from listening to rumours and hot tips to analysing firms based on their financial ratios and fundamentals.
Q: And your best investment?
After attending a Singapore Exchange course in 2004, I invested about $50,000 to $70,000 in OCBC Bank and Straits Trading shares.
The latter was bought at $2.07 in June 2004 and I achieved about 43 per cent returns when I sold the shares after two years.
I bought OCBC shares at $6.75 each in February 2006 and sold them at $9.01 each a year later.
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