Lippo Group of Indonesia has laid out its growth plans for Overseas Union Enterprise (OUE), especially now that it is in sole control of the company.
Stephen Riady, president of Lippo and OUE’s executive chairman recently, said OUE will be the company’s Singapore flagship.
Ties between the Riadys and Ananda Krishnan the Malaysian tycoon whose stake in the Singapore-listed property group was bought in March, were strained, and there were reported disagreements over the management of OUE.
Mr. Riady said: “People have different visions. It’s hard to say who’s right or who’s wrong,’ he said. But, ‘when you have two captains and two captains have different views and different visions, I think it’s bad for the company.”
He is very keen to leave his past “distractions” behind and help OUE move on. “Without all these, you’ll get (to the goal) smoothly and more easily,” he added.
In the last few years, OUE’s focus was to build a stronger recurrent income base, and it has reached this through asset enhancements, Mr. Riady said.
For example, it created Mandarin Gallery from an idle lobby space at the former Meritus Mandarin, which has been now refurbished and renamed Mandarin Orchard. The mall currently generates rental income.
OUE is also developing One Raffles Place and 50 Collyer Quay, and the offices will bring in rentals when they are ready.
OUE will focus mainly on the residential development business once a steady recurrent income stream is built.
The goal is to have development profit making up 50 percent of the bottom line and recurrent income make up the remaining half, Mr. Riady said.
According to Mr. Riady, Lippo plans to keep OUE to facilitate growth.