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Man United bid ‘not about my ego or making tons of money’, says S’pore PR Zilliacus

Finnish entrepreneur Thomas Zilliacus has intrigued fans worldwide after making a bold bid for English football giants Manchester United. A Singapore permanent resident who has dabbled in football management here, the 69-year-old speaks to David Lee about his love for the club and what his bid entails.

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Finnish entrepreneur Thomas Zilliacus has made a bold bid for English football giants Manchester United.

Finnish entrepreneur Thomas Zilliacus has made a bold bid for English football giants Manchester United.

PHOTO: BLOOMBERG

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Q: Can you tell us more about yourself?

A: I came to Singapore at a young age in 1986 because Nokia wanted to expand in Asia... I became the CEO for seven years. But then I got so excited about all the opportunities in Asia that I decided to leave Nokia and set up my own companies Asia-Pacific Strategic Alliances Group and Mobile FutureWorks (MFW) in the 1990s.

And these companies have grown into multiple different companies that deal with e-commerce, social media, digital payments, mobile games, and now real estate, sports and entertainment.

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