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Categories
| People & Places: Millionaires Meet |
| Lifestyle | |||
| Written by Elaine Lau | |||
| Monday, 08 June 2009 00:00 | |||
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An inaugural event, touted as the first of its kind in the world, is set to take place from June 16 to 19 at the Mandarin Oriental Kuala Lumpur. Called the High Net Worth Summit (HNWS) 2009, the by-invitation-only event will see a gathering of some of Asia’s most affluent individuals for a luxury showcase and business summit, culminating in a star-studded charity gala. These three components under one umbrella event is something that has never been attempted before, says Tan Wei Ming, project director for HNWS 2009, the brainchild behind the summit. Tan, who runs hotel lifestyle consultancy firm Lyecon and who also has business interests in Australia and the UK, says the germination of this three-pronged concept began with a conversation with one of his business associates in London who was tasked with looking into expanding to Asia for the jet company he was working for. “He asked me how he could come over to Asia. But it was tricky, being unsure of the market here,” says Tan. “Then I thought of a platform for foreign companies to test the Asian market in a cost-efficient manner, and we would invite the clientele, so the companies can come face to face with a very focused group and they can gauge immediately the demand for these services.”  The brands and companies showcasing at HNWS 2009 is a mix of well-known names and those that do not yet have a presence here such as Chopard, Loewe, BMW, Mouawad, VistaJet, Caran d’Ache, Girard- Perregaux, Bell & Ross, Leica, Sun Seeker, Ferretti, Pershing and Mochi Craft. Think of it as something similar to Moscow’s Millionaire Fair, except a lot more exclusive — there will be one-off, specially created items and limited edition pieces — and personal. “It’s a very bespoke experience,” says Tan. “It won’t be a situation of someone coming in and just looking at things as if it’s an exhibition. We will walk them through it, make sure they enjoy the entire experience.” Having merely a luxury showcase is not exactly a strong enough pull for high-level business and corporate individuals to specially fly to KL and spend four days indulging in it. “What we thought would make it more interesting is to have a business summit there to justify these guys coming in. We thought, let’s do something productive for them,” says Tan. The business summit is essentially an individually tailored networking platform where strategic introductions between prospects can be arranged. “We have guys coming in looking for joint-venture partners, business owners interested in selling their companies, people wanting to raise funds and so on. For example, these people can put in a request saying they want to meet people with the intention to expand overseas and have the funds to do it with them. We will try our best to pair them up,” says Tan. “I find it very effective from a networking standpoint, because you get rid of the formalities or the pretensions, so to speak. This is very focused,” he adds. The individuals slated to attend are predominantly business owners from Southeast Asia, with a handful from Europe and North America. Top clients of partners and retailers of HNWS 2009 — such as Mandarin Oriental, VistaJet, Leica and Mouawad — have also been invited. The official criterion for these individuals is a net worth of at least US$30 million (RM105 million) in financial assets. Interested parties can request for an invitation, but they will be screened through first. “We don’t want a situation where they cannot contribute to the event,” says Tan. “Our assurance to the people at the event is the people you meet are pretty serious people.” HNWS 2009 will end on a high note, with a glitzy charity gala dinner on June 19 where guests will be treated to a performance by two-time Grammy Award-winning R&B and soul singer, Peabo Bryson. The night will also see an auction of personal items from Hollywood and Asian film and music icons, and proceeds will be channelled towards the PRIDE Foundation, a Malaysian non-profit organisation dedicated to breast cancer causes. At a press conference recently, Datin Azrene Abdullah, chairman of the foundation, says the funds will be used for PRIDE’s projects and activities over the next six months, which include awareness campaigns in seven states and the setting up of a PRIDE Centre at University of Malaya Medical Centre, a palliative care centre for terminal cancer patients. The charity gala dinner on June 19 at the Mandarin Oriental KL costs US$1,000 per person. For enquiries on this or the High Net Worth Summit 2009, call (03) 8023 0820 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . For more information on the PRIDE Foundation, visit www.pride.org.my or call (03) 2144 9952. Photo Short  Formula One has a new pin-up boy — Jenson Button. The Brit driver’s newly-acquired status has just as much to do with him leading the pack with the most wins (five out of six races so far this year) as it does with his boyish good looks. Prior to this season, Button was a somewhat obscure driver in F1, his only claim to fame being the winner of the Grand Prix in Hungary in 2006. All that changed when the team he was on, Honda, was bought over by Ross Brawn this year, and he found himself in a spiffy, Mercedes-engined car that he skilfully manoeuvred to the chequered flag several times over. At the Monaco Grand Prix race last month, which he won, Button was spotted wearing the Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Compressor Extreme LAB, only five of which have been produced. The exclusive timepiece has a case made of carbon and titanium, and is revolutionary in that it operates without any form of lubricant. Traditional mechanical movements use oils or grease to ensure the ideal operating of all the parts in motion, but when lubricants are not replaced in time, this affects the performance of the movement. Also, in extreme temperatures, the lubricant can freeze and bring the movement to a halt. The Master Compressor Extreme LAB’s lubricant-free Calibre 988C movement effectively does away with all these concerns. The watch, which took two years to develop, also features a new geometry of the balance, lighter and more resistant materials in the escapement and a latest-generation tourbillon regulator, all of which set this timepiece at a new precision benchmark.  Rockin’ debutAt the Jendela Living showroom in Capsquare, Kuala Lumpur, recently, there was an unusual addition to the cushions, homewares and coffee tables in the store — chunky jewellery pieces from first-time jewellery designer Maureen Soon’s debut collection were artfully displayed amidst the wares. Soon’s art jewellery pieces is the second instalment of the Artist@Jendela KL series, part of Jendela KL’s corporate social responsibility programme that gives budding artists a platform to create, display and sell their work. The launch of the Rock and Roll collection saw an intimate gathering of close friends and associates of Soon, and a select group of members from the media. Soon, who works in real estate, says she ventured into jewellery design as the local jewellery scene did not have much to shout about. She took a crash course in jewellery-making from a craftsman, where she fell in love with silver, and then began creating her own pieces last year. Her debut collection, the name of which refers to the stones and the rolling technique used in shaping the silver, comprise more than 50 one-off pieces that combine dazzlingly cut and polished or chunkily raw semi-precious stones of jade, crystal, onyx, quartz, turquoise and amethyst with silverworks. Her tribal-influenced designs of earrings, rings, necklaces and bracelets are rustic and beautiful in their crudeness. The chunky pieces have a geometric composition, and there is definitely nothing subtle or delicate about them. “You have to be brave to wear my bold designs,” laughs Soon.  Soon says she picked up the semi-precious stones from her travels over the years. “Whatever catches my eye, I bring them back,” says the former flight attendant. “I came up with designs to match the stones, but the emphasis is on the silver work — every piece of silver is different.” The collection is for sale at Jendela KL, Explore Floor, Starhill Gallery, KL. For more information, call (03) 2144 9189. This article appeared in Options, the lifestyle pullout of The Edge Malaysia, Issue 758, June 8 - 14, 2009.
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