Value Investing in Asia

INTERVIEWSAn Interview with Wong Kok Hoi of APS Asset Management

“Don't do what others do”

— Wong Kok Hoi, CFA

In May 2017, we met with Mr Wong Kok Hoi for an exclusive interview at his office in Singapore. Founded in 1995 and headquartered in Singapore, APS Asset Management (“APS”) started with assets under management (AUM) of just US$15 million. As at April 2017, its AUM has grown to US$2.7 billion. APS has also expanded into a company with 65 staff over six offices worldwide.

Mr Wong, the founder and Chief Investment Officer of APS, has over 36 years of investment experience, including being the Chief Investment Officer at Cititrust Japan, Senior Portfolio Manager at Citibank Hong Kong and Senior Investment Officer of Government of Singapore Investment Corporation. Mr Wong was also the recipient of the Mombusho Scholarship in Japan and graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce from Hitotsubashi University. After that, Mr Wong went on to complete the Investment Appraisal and Management Program at Harvard University.

From the start, APS started with an ambitious objective – to manage Asian assets for predominantly institutional investors, rather than the regular boutique investment firms' path in the 1980s of managing family and friends' money. Even after 22 years, the core values and vision of APS have not changed, APS still specialises in the Asian markets, employing investigative research and independent thinking in their investment process. Today, nearly 95% of their ...