Business & The Blues

As versatile as he is creative, maths major turned-music mogul Kuok Meng Ru is the scion of risk-taking businessmen. He talks to mei anne foo about strumming to a different beat.

- Mei Anne

THERE’S JUST SOMETHING about a guy who knows how to play the guitar. It shows you that he is quick, scrupulous and obviously creative. Kuok Meng Ru, 30, is all that, and then some.

Though the modest electric guitarist would profess not to be a very talented musician. “Thankfully, I have another passion, which is business,” Kuok says with a smile.

A mathematics graduate from Cambridge University, and the third child of agribusiness magnate Kuok Khoon Hong, it seemed only natural that Kuok Junior ventured into the world of commerce. But unlike his dad, who built Singapore-based Wilmar International Ltd into the world’s largest palm-oil business, this blues buff has decided to pursue all things related to music.

Founder of the two-year-old music-tech company BandLab, which offers a cloud-based free music creation app of the same name, Kuok has been on a shopping spree ever since — buying out Composer, a platform that originated from Europe and is similar to BandLab; and Mono, the California-based design company that makes cases and accessories for music instruments.

His proliferating portfolio even extends to the media industry. In 2016, Kuok made international headlines when he invested in a 49-percent stake in Rolling Stone magazine, considered the most influential voice in the American music scene, although recently plagued by criticism and financial difficulties. Late last year, Penske Media, publisher of Variety, Robb Report and more, bought the majority stake in the iconic read from its New York-based publisher, Wenner Media, with Kuok’s sanction as the other shareholder.