Any Lim, The Second Generation Dealmaker Is About To Make His Greatest Play

Andy Lim, chief executive officer of JL Family Office, stakes out his path as the steward of his family’s assets.

- Karen Tee

Andy Lim strides into the boardroom and sits in the only chair there that’s placed at the head of the table. Barely a heartbeat passes before he jumps up like he has accidentally sat on a hot potato and scoots over to the right.

“That is the boss chair,” he jokingly exclaims. It is the seat his father, John Lim, who is the co-founder and group chief executive of ARA Asset Management, takes when the board convenes, and the 35-year-old Lim seems self-conscious in the hallowed spot. And this despite the fact that the scion has been the chief executive officer of JL Family Office, the holding company for the family’s wealth, since 2019.

However, there is a distinction to be made here. ARA Asset Management, which has a presence in 28 countries – and whose most recognisable landmark is Suntec City – manages about $87 billion in assets and is estimated to be worth about $5 billion.

The JL Family Office holds a 19.85 per cent stake in ARA and this comprises a significant portion of the Lim family’s fortune. It also holds a 10.5 per cent stake in Straits Real Estate, which is co-owned by The Straits Trading Company.

“The office takes care of 100 per cent of the family’s wealth,” he says. “The beauty of the family office concept is that I have the ability to run my own thing away from the core business. There is a latitude that allows me to do things I feel are right for the family.”

TAKING THE LEAP

By his own admission, Lim originally had no intention of getting involved in the family business. “I enjoyed my practice as a commercial real estate lawyer. I enjoyed the rigours of law and was involved in a lot of negotiations and contracts. I loved that every day I would be doing deals,” says Lim, who holds a law degree from the University of Liverpool and spent four years at Allen & Gledhill till 2014.