Alex Hooi Kiang Lim

President Of The Chinese Chamber Of Commerce Victoria

维多利亚中华总商会会长

The ancient Chinese were famous for their inventions and great feats of engineering like the Great Wall of China amongst many. Another forte of the Chinese, ancient or modern, is trade and commerce. Standing staunchly behind this philosophy is Alex Hooi Kiang Lim, President of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce Victoria (CCCV).

Hailing from Klang, Malaysia, near Port Klang, the world’s 12th busiest port, he was not always born to trade although he came from a family of trading background.  Graduating from Monash University with a Bachelor of Arts in Urban Geography and Planning, he was a bit overwhelmed when his professor finally told him that he was a qualified Urban Economic Planner. That was because he was probably a handful of Malaysians that enrolled in the Arts faculty as most were  always in Engineering, Economics or Law and it was a stigma then not to be part of the mainstream!

Unsure of his footing, he went back to Malaysia and moonlighted with architectural, finance and insurance companies. Over the years he wore many hats and was even a Director of Nexnews Bhd. Nevertheless during the financial crisis in 1997, a good friend from Sabah landed him smack on a lucrative land deal in East Malaysia. “At that time during the financial crisis, there were lots of land but no interest in Sabah. My brother and I bought a large tract of land at an unbelievable price then and started planting oil palm. It was an expensive learning curve as we had no previous experiences in Palm Oil Cultivation. We made lots of mistakes and costly ones too but ultimately we made good.” After 12 years and an irresistible offer from a leading plantation conglomerate, the Lim brothers cashed in and Alex migrated to Melbourne, Australia.

“I made the decision to come to Australia mainly for my eldest son, who was very slow in learning but after migrating here he was diagnosed positively for Autism. Australia indeed provides a better environment for his area of autism. I chose Melbourne because I studied here thus quite familiar with the set up and indeed Melbourne has more support and education for autistic children. The community at large is also more caring and understanding towards people with disabilities. I am indeed very grateful to God and also the caring nature of the Government ”

“I hope to see the CCCV becomes more involved cross culturally, networking with the Italian, Israeli and Greek chambers of commerce to enrich the business community in Victoria. Regionally we are developing bilateral relationships with other Chinese Chamber of Commerce particularly in Malaysia,Philippines, Thailand and other Asean nations as our market threshold is relatively small therefore we need to encourage more investments both ways.”

Even in a land so far down south, Lim’s entrepreneurial fire burned within. He collaborated with Mammoth Empire Melbourne and developed a piece of land at the corner of Elizabeth and A’Beckett Streets. Together they completed MY80, 54 levels of 350 apartment units which sold out very quickly. Lim’s reputation as a property developer and consultant was then cemented and they soon developed Empire Melbourne which also sold out within six months. ‘Our timing of selling and final settlements were just right”.

To Alex apart from his business, his wife Li Har and and his 4 sons are most important to him. He spent plenty of time partnering with Li Har in grooming their boys to be of good character and values. He always stressed on attitude and mannerisms.” What is the point of being smart and wealthy but has no character and insensitive to people around you”

“I love to entertain. Our house was built for entertaining and to host people from all walks of life. I work out at the gym almost every morning and am passionately involved in world evangelical missions. I have been to Pakistan, India, Nepal, Xinjiang, Myanmmar and Laos for short term missions and more so to be exposed to the challenges faced by the people. It was a humbling experience.” When asked to describe himself in three words, this renaissance man thought carefully and chose “integrity, sincerity and simplicity”.

The irony of Lim’s ascension to the CCCV Presidency is that he is not Chinese educated background but yet was elected. So he struggles with Mandarin.” I always make good with my visions through speeches and sharing in English and Teochew and building good relationships with a good interpreter” he quipped.

He currently sits on the boards of a few development companies both locally and overseas providing consultancies and still looking at a few potential sites and will pounced on it when it meets the criterias. Finally, Alex stressed that his journey was never easy but were filled with lots of challenges be it relationships or businesses, and very grateful to his wife Li Har, his brother Hui Seng, Dato Tong Kooi Ong and Dato Seri Maximus Ongkili who has stood by him through those tumultuous years.” 

中国古代以伟大的发明和建筑工程著称，比如万里长城。至于华人的另一个强项-商业和贸易，从古至今依旧源远流长。而维多利亚中华总商会(CCCV)会长Alex Hooi Kiang Lim也是商贸理念的坚定秉承者。

他出生于马来西亚巴生港附近，这是全球排名第十二繁忙的港口。虽然成长于商贸背景的家庭，但他并非一开始就踏上从商之路。Alex自莫纳什大学毕业并取得城市地理和规划技术学士学位，而当教授最终告知，他已经是一名合格的城市经济规划师时，他却显得有点不知所措。那是因为他可能是少数进入文科系的马来西亚人，一般人总是选择在工程，经济学或法学领域进修，因此非主流是有点羞耻感！

由于对本身立足点的不明确，他回到了马来西亚，在建筑、金融和保险公司兼职工作。多年来，他身兼数职，甚至曾是Nexnews Bhd的董事。1997年金融危机爆发之际，一名好朋友在马来西亚东部帮他敲定了一笔交易。“当时正历经金融危机，那时在沙巴的土地很多，人们却毫无投资兴趣。我和兄弟以不可思议的价格买下了一大片土地，开始种植油棕。这是相当昂贵的学习曲线过程，由于缺乏油棕种植经验，我们犯了许多错误，付出一些代价，但最终我们也成功且创造利润。”十二年后，在一家大型种植园集团展开不可抗拒的银弹攻势下，两兄弟转手了事业并兑现资金，Alex移居澳大利亚墨尔本。

“移居澳大利亚是为了我的长子，他在学习吸收过程中反应迟缓，后来诊断患有自闭症。澳大利亚在自闭症区域这块提供了相对更好的环境，所以做出决定后我们就彻底执行落实迁离。至于我选择墨尔本是基于留学经历，这里对自闭症儿童有更完善的支持和教育。而社会对身障者的爱心和理解亦与日俱增，政府的关怀也令人感激。”

即使在如此遥远的南方，Alex的创业热情也在内心持续燃烧。他与帝国集团墨尔本(Mammoth Empire Melbourne)合作，在Elizabeth与A’Beckett街的拐角处买了一块地。他们携手打造了MY80项目,这栋54层的350套公寓深受欢迎，火速售罄。作为一名房地产开发商兼顾问，他的声誉得到了巩固，紧接着开发帝国墨尔本(Empire Melbourne)项目，6个月内宣布楼盘卖光。“我们售卖和最终结算的时机恰到好处。”

对Alex来说，除了事业，妻子Li Har和4名儿子对他来说是最重要的。他花了大量时间与妻子培育孩子们具备良好的品格和价值观。他总是强调态度和言谈举止；“一个人即使再聪明富有，但没有个性主见，而且对周围的人麻木不仁有什么意义?”

他把本身的爱好列为社交和与人交往，“我喜欢交际。我的房子是为款待人们而构建。我每天早上都去健身房锻炼。另外，我热爱全世界福音传教活动，曾在巴基斯坦、印度、尼泊尔、新疆，缅甸和老挝等执行短期任务，并且感受当地人面临的挑战，这是令人体验谦卑的历练。”当被要求用三个词来描述自己时，这位商贸复兴者仔细思索了一下，选择了“正直、热情和简单”。

而他荣任CCCV主席的出乎意料之处在于，他虽然没有接受过正统中文教育，但仍然当选了。所以他努力学习华语，“我总是用英语和潮州话来实现梦想，建立良好的人际关系和进行融洽的传达。”他目前是在本地和海外数家开发公司作为董事会成员提供咨询服务，同时还在考察几个具有潜力的开发点，当确认符合标准就会伺机出击。

最后，Alex强调他的人生一路走来并非平坦顺畅，而是充满了许多挑战性的人际关系或业务，因此感谢他的妻子、兄弟Hui Seng，拿督童贵旺和拿督斯里Maximus Ongkili曾在动荡不安的年代支持着他。

By Sloane Patterson