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” Mr Yeah Hiang Nam's listed ValueMax pawnshop chain has 47 outlets across Singapore. His daughter, Ms Yeah Lee Ching, is managing director. 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. “916” refers to 22K gold, an alloy containing 91.6 per cent pure gold which is marked by its rich, yellow appearance.
In 1988, her father, Mr Yeah Hiang Nam, ventured into pawnbroking. His ValueMax chain is the only pawnbroker listed on the mainboard of the Singapore Exchange. (Two others, Maxi-Cash and MoneyMax, are on the Catalist board.
) There are currently 47 ValueMax outlets in Singapore, mostly in the HDB heartland. Besides pawnbroking, ValueMax sells gold ornaments and trades in pre-owned jewellery, watches and designer bags. It also does moneylending, offers property and car financing loans, and trades in precious metals.
Mr Yeah is founder and executive chairman of the company, and all three of his children are in the business. Ms Yeah, 52, the eldest, is managing director (retail and trading) and al.