Staying nimble

A WILLINGNESS to let go of closely held convictions is clearly a major tenet of William Liem's personal philosophy. Several times in his interview with The Business Times at Tuan Sing Holdings' office on Oxley Rise, the CEO of the property developer brings the conversation back to that point, and reiterates that flexibility and readiness to change one's mind is key to business success.

When pressed on why the concept is so important to him, Mr Liem refers to his stint in the early 2000s with Gul Technologies, a printed circuit board manufacturer and an associate company of Tuan Sing.

"The organisation was going through quite a difficult patch. Most of the companies in the industry had closed down and relocated to China. Unfortunately, I had the task of laying off certain people, and it is not a pleasant role," says the 46-year-old.