MP Shawn Loh to take over as group MD of local firm behind brands like PastaMania

SINGAPORE – The local company behind brands like PastaMania and Baker & Cook will expand its leadership ranks, with Jalan Besar GRC MP Shawn Loh, 38, taking over as group managing director. 

Mr Loh joined Commonwealth Capital Group in April, after leaving his role as director in the Finance Ministry to enter politics.

He was voted in under the PAP banner at the May election. 

Current group managing director and founder Andrew Kwan, 58, will become executive chairman, and his son Ryan Kwan, 31, will become deputy group managing director, taking over Mr Loh’s current position.

The changes will take effect from Jan 1, 2026, the company said in a statement on Oct 1. 

The older Mr Kwan, who founded the company in 2010, told The Straits Times in an interview on Oct 2 that his new role will involve “steering and shielding” the company. 

The business, which now employs more than 1,000 people and earns more than $200 million in annual revenue, is more complex now, with three different areas of operations – logistics, manufacturing and food services, he said.

“I see myself evolving into a different role where I have more bandwidth to ensure that the organisation continues to move in the right direction,” he added.

The move is also about planning for the future, he noted. “I guess age matters – that’s the other thing.”

As Mr Kwan is turning 59 soon, he said he wants to start thinking about the organisation going “beyond the mortal lives of the founders”.

This is not Mr Loh’s first stint with the company. In 2020, he was seconded there for about 18 months from the public service as group director for business strategy and innovation.

It was a mutually good experience, said Mr Kwan. 

Then, Mr Loh and Mr Ryan Kwan were involved in a deal where Commonwealth Capital acquired a logistics company that had about three times the operating capacity of its own logistics business at the time, he said, without naming the acquired company.

Mr Loh said that it was the largest deal for the company to date, and that it sees more opportunities for such growth moving forward. 

He told ST: “The broader picture is that we see ourselves as a growth company, where we’re not satisfied with the status quo and we’re not satisfied with cruising, but continuing to grow in two directions – internationally and inorganically.”

The company’s focus is on regional mergers and acquisitions, with a particular interest in Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Malaysia across their three business areas.

“But much also depends on suitable opportunities that open up. We don’t force deals that are not meant to be,” Mr Kwan said.

Commonwealth Capital was most recently involved in taking over two establishments at the Asian Civilisations Museum that were originally operated by Prive Group, after the latter shut all its restaurants in end-August.

Chinese restaurant Empress remains with Commonwealth Concepts (CWC) as the operator, while Baker & Cook has begun operations after replacing Prive Cafe.

CWC was formed in 2021 through a joint venture with Commonwealth Capital and Far East Organization’s food and beverage arm Refinery Concepts.

CWC owns 12 brands, including Baker & Cook, as well as Fat Cow and Bedrock Bar & Grill.

Commonwealth Capital has announced new facilities in Singapore in recent years.

In 2023, it opened a new $200 million cold-chain food logistics facility in Singapore under Commonwealth Kokubu Logistics, a joint venture formed in 2018 by Commonwealth Capital and the Japanese Kokubu Group.

Mr Ryan Kwan, who joined Commonwealth Capital in March after serving in the Singapore Courts as magistrate, deputy registrar and coroner, said the company has already started going overseas for food manufacturing. 

“I think that’s where the future of production will be, partly because land and labour in Singapore are a lot more costly than in the region, and our plans are to supply not just Singapore, but also the South-east Asian market,” he added.

“We are probably going to consolidate in Singapore first, then venture overseas.”