Startups should fund themselves instead of using debt: HL Finance

Singapore

STARTUPS should revert to basics and look to fund themselves rather than leverage debt instruments, says Hong Leong Finance's president Ian Macdonald.

"The thing about debt is, you have to pay it back and you have to pay it back on a programmed basis. So if you're starting up a business . . . the best way to go about it is to try and find that funding yourself, so that if things don't work out, (it is) this money (that) is at risk. If you take out a loan and something goes wrong, you have the ramifications on your credit limit."