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Lunch with Sumiko
Best not to have in-laws in the family business, says founder of ValueMax pawnshop chain
Mr Yeah Hiang Nam, whose listed ValueMax pawnshop chain operates 47 stores, tells executive editor Sumiko Tan that working with his three children is like “working with friends”.
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Mr Yeah Hiang Nam's listed ValueMax pawnshop chain has 47 outlets across Singapore. His daughter, Ms Yeah Lee Ching, is managing director. Yet while Mr Yeah believes in keeping the business within the family, that does not include in-laws.
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Ms Yeah Lee Ching grew up playing with gold. Her father had a small, home-based workshop churning out gold ornaments such as bangles and necklaces.
She’d stack up the gold bars lying around the house as though they were Lego bricks. “I’d also help out after school, like knocking in the ‘916’ stamp on the ornaments. It was fun,” she recalls.
