Asian family businesses must embrace sustainability to enhance their legacy, says chairman of IMC Pan Asia Alliance Group

Name: Asian family businesses must embrace sustainability, says chairman of IMC Pan Asia Alliance Group
Uploaded: 2024-03-31T06:30:13.000Z
Duration: 1 min 52 s
Description: Asian family businesses must embrace sustainability, says chairman of IMC Pan Asia Alliance Group

Family businesses should promote sustainability as it will benefit their succession planning, says Chavalit Frederick Tsao

He is eyeing investment opportunities in the infrastructure sector in Indonesia, and Japan’s wellness and hospitality sectors

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Tsao said capital is flowing towards a more sustainable future and that people should allow their care for the Earth to transcend their fear. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Aileen Chuang

Published: 2:30pm, 31 Mar 2024Updated: 2:46pm, 1 Apr 2024

The chairman of the conglomerate IMC Pan Asia Alliance Group (IMCPAA), has called for family businesses to promote sustainability, which he believes will benefit their succession planning and business values.

“Family businesses are very concerned about sustainability, succession planning, values and legacy,” Chavalit Frederick Tsao said on the sidelines of the One Earth Summit – an event he dubbed the “Green Davos” in reference to the location of the annual World Economic Forum – in Hong Kong on Monday.

“Now, here’s an opportunity for us to do all of them in one and be the legacy.”

Family-owned businesses like IMCPAA are prominent in the economy, outperforming their non-family peers by 3 per cent since 2006, according to a 2023 survey of 1,000 such companies by Credit Suisse. Of those surveyed, 517 were from the Asia-Pacific region, with a total value of US$4.2 trillion.

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Asian family businesses must embrace sustainability, says chairman of IMC Pan Asia Alliance Group

Born in Hong Kong, Tsao is the fourth-generation executive of the 120-year-old business his family established. Singapore-headquartered IMCPAA has expanded from being a shipping giant to a company that supports business sustainability and the “flourishing of life”, according to its website.