Connections that Result in Synergy

Saturday, 7th November 2026

As I look back upon my 30+ years in the corporate world, one thing I realise is of great importance is connections.

Even before officially embarking on my career, I had done some part-time work at Noel Hampers while waiting to enlist in the Army in 1986, and that opening came about through my JC classmate Gerald Ang.  He had joined them just after the A levels and when asked whether he knew anyone who wanted to earn some pocket money, he pulled me and another JC batchmate, Tsae Juan, into the company.

Then in my 2nd year as an Accountancy undergraduate in 1990, it was through NTU lecturer/tutor/mentor (and churchmate) Mrs Wendy Foo that I interned at Price Waterhouse, which then led to working there full-time upon graduation.  When applying for the Internal Auditor role at Singapore Island Country Club in 1994, I put her as my referee in my CV, and it was also she who helped me enrol for the MBA program at NTU, despite missing the deadline for application.

Mrs Foo continued to be my referee when I applied to join Solomon Software in 1997, and again when I went back to PricewaterhouseCoopers in 2000.

In my previous post, I blogged about how the recruiter Orion Consulting had put my name forward to Walton as a candidate for the FC position in 2008.  While decluttering my home recently, I came across a copy of the "Candidate Report" they had drawn up for me, which is basically my CV reformatted into their standard template so that they can give their clients a somewhat like-for-like comparison of candidates.

But it is the "Reference Check Report" that they prepare for candidates being offered the role that lends weight to my earlier point.

Shortly after my 2nd interview with S and G, Orion contacted me and asked me to provide the names and contact details of 4 persons I used to work for/with, namely 2 superiors, 1 peer and 1 subordinate.  Wow, I was used to providing the names of ex-bosses in my CV, but this was the first time I was asked for the names of a peer and a subordinate.

For bosses, I gave the names of TCC (my PW manager), HLG (my Tricor boss), Siew Beng (a peer at SICC) and Irene (an Infineon staff).

While de-cluttering, I came across the Reference Check Report that Orion did on me, and especially felt moved by what Mr HLG had said about me.  As you all may well know, I had quit Tricor in 2004 and joined Infineon in 2005 on a contract basis because my working relationship with him had deteriorated to the point of it becoming unpleasant (for him) and untenable (for me).  He had to micro-manage me because the project he had put me in charge of was not progressing at a pace that was acceptable to him.

Read for yourself what he said about me :-)

He did tell Orion that I had an area of improvement but the way it was put across was very professional and constructive, saying I was too "nice" and needed more "tough love".

And that is similar to what Jesus told His disciples in Matt 10:16, that they needed to be shrewd as serpents and not just innocent as doves.

Truth be told, in the earlier part of my career, from 1991 to 2006, I was 100% dove and 0% serpent.  It was only from 2007 onward that I started to exercise more shrewdness and by the time I left RPG, it was 50:50 and that inspired me to set up my sole proprietorship Akeraios Phronesis :-)

As one climbs higher up the corporate ladder, the importance of connections becomes even more pronounced.  I had sent out dozens of job applications upon being asked to leave Walton in 2010, but nothing came about for 6 months.  I only managed to find a job in my dad's friend's audit firm because of my mom (yup, connections).  I rejoined Walton in 2011 because of existing connections with the CFO, and even joining RPG in 2019 was because ex-colleague Victor Poh (the one who introduced me to the grace gospel) recommended me to Mr K (yup, connections again).

Of course, it is God who is the one behind everything, as He orchestrates circumstances and brings the relevant people into our lives to be our connections.  Rom 8:28 tells us that God works together all things for our good.  The Greek word for "works together" is συνεργεῖ (synergei) from where we get the English word "synergy".

P.S. If the chef in the above AI-generated graphic resembles Ps Prince, it is deliberate ;-)

P.P.S. I also discovered that recruiters like Orion earn a hefty fee for successfully placing a candidate, typically 2 to 3 months of that candidate's compensation.  

P.P.P.S. I received a message from KW of Orion sometime in December 2011 congratulating me for rejoining Walton.  How did he know? Because concurrently, he was recommending candidates to them.  By re-employing me, Walton actually saved the money they would have had to pay Orion had they selected a candidate they had shortlisted :-)

The ALMighty's Answer to ALMost

Monday, 2nd November 2026

"Hi Malcolm, this is KW.  You almost got the job.  You were shortlisted, but eventually they selected someone else who has the relevant real estate experience.  Thank you for your time, and all the best in your job search."

That was what the headhunting recruiter from Orion Consulting said to me over the phone, sometime just after Chinese New Year, February 2008.

It was meant to be words of reassurance and comfort.

That I came so, so, very, close.  

But it had the opposite effect.

It was like telling someone that they almost struck the lottery, or an Arsenal fan that they almost won the Champions League last season.

According to Webster's, the word "almost" is most commonly used as an adverb meaning, "very nearly", "not quite", or "not completely".

Back to that phone call.

Sometime in January 2008, Orion had sent my CV to Walton for their Financial Controller, Singapore position.  My interview with S, the CFO, went very well and lasted nearly 2 hours long!  He then brought me to see G, the MD, and that encounter lasted less than 3 minutes.  All I recall was G saying to me was, "You ACS boy?  I was from SJI." and then shaking his head and ushering me out the door of his huge room.

I thus had received mixed signals, and told my wife that while it went excellently with the CFO, I was not so sure how it went with the MD.

KW, the headhunter was supposed to get back to me on the outcome, but CNY was coming up so he told me he would only be able to do so after that.

I remember being crestfallen when he told me I "almost" got the job.  But I thank God for prompting me to send S an email that same evening thanking him for the interview, and informing him that should any opportunity arise in future, I would be most interested and he could let me know accordingly.

Well, guess what? KW unexpectedly called me the very next day!  Initially I thought it was for another job opening, but he told me that "Walton changed their mind, and wants to see you again! Oh by the way, their office is no longer at One Fullerton, but they are now at Republic Plaza."

I went to their new spanking office, and S asked me when I could start. I told him 1 April 2008.  He then showed me the org chart, gave me an overview of the dynamics of the Finance department, and also a brief background of each of the 19 staff!  And yes, he also pointed out the potential of vfs to me, even though she was just a junior accountant then.

After doing so, he brought me to G's room. This time around, G was much more warm and friendly, shook my hand, and even put his arm around my shoulder, telling me he was just teasing me about my being from ACS.  He told me he was a big Man U fan and did not like Liverpool, so as a Villa fan, I did not need to worry.  He asked me what my expected salary was, and I replied that it was totally up to him. He offered me 10% higher than what Infineon was paying me, and that was sufficient for me to accept his offer on the spot.  He told me that Orion would get in touch with me.

Subsequently, I discovered why S "changed" his mind.  That email to him did influence his decision to a certain extent, but it was only because the candidate they had initially offered the job to (the one with real estate experience) declined it because his company had counter-offered for him to stay on!

I was actually their 2nd choice, but in life, that is how God shows that He is ultimately sovereign.  

For that matter, David was Samuel's 8th choice!  He had considered Jesse's 7 sons before finally anointing David. 

And that my friends, is the LORD ALMighty's answer to ALMost :-)

When God opens a door, nobody can shut it. And when He closes a door, nobody can open it.

He opened the door for me to join Walton in April 2008, closed it in August 2010 when the environment became too toxic, and then re-opened it in December 2011, only to close it yet again in October 2019, so that I could join RPG in December 2019 after taking a month's break to brush up on my golf.

Hallelujah!

AI = Anointed / Awesome Intelligence

Friday, 23rd October 2026

Artificial Intelligence ("AI") seems to be a very hot topic nowadays.

I recently attended a breakfast talk conducted by Citibank, and noted that practically every speaker made a constant mention of it.  In fact, they even put the word AI in the title.  

OpenAI and Anthropic, the organisations behind ChatGPT and Claude are planning massive trillion-dollar valued IPOs.

We accountants, the boring, bean-counting, archaic, book- and ledger-keeping "dinosaurs", are not exempted from AI either.  The Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants ("ISCA"), the professional body that local practicing accountants are associated with, have kept up with the times by partnering relevant experts to come up with learning content to equip her members to become conversant with AI.

AIxAccountancy, the AI Fluency Programme by ISCA-AINexus seeks to prepare us "for the future workforce".  I just completed the online training today and received the relevant badge and certification, and have duly shared it on Linkedin :-)

Well, any invention by mankind can be used for both good and bad.  After all, God is the source of innovation, while the devil is the source of counterfeiting.

In my previous post, I used AI to discover a free platform to host Rev Reuben Ng's anointed sermons.  They have been uploaded onto Spotify.

And just today, I used Google's Gemini to come up with 2-paragraph summaries for each of his sermons!

This is what it generated for his first sermon:

The maiden sermon "(001) I Shouldn't Be Here" by Rev Reuben Ng, preached at Paya Lebar Methodist Church (PLMC)'s "The Next Generation" (TNG) youth service, is a raw and moving testimony centred on the unconditional love of God.  Reflecting on his personal journey and his new assignment as a pastor, he uses the phrase "I shouldn't be here" to capture the deep humility of being selected by God despite feeling entirely unqualified.  The core message unpacks how divine grace completely overrides human error, flaws, and past mistakes, turning lives around in ways that defy personal merit or human expectation.

The sermon delivers a profound, fresh revelation of the parable of the Prodigal Son, specifically focusing on the overwhelming depth of Abba Father's love. Through the lens of Luke 15:20, Rev Reuben highlights how God runs to embrace us with open arms, regardless of where we have been or what our past looks like. The ultimate takeaway is an encouraging declaration of hope for the listener: your past does not define your future capacity to be utilized by God, because His grace is bigger than your history.

Awesome ya?

That is why I am titling this post, ANOINTED intelligence and AWESOME intelligence.  Hallelujah!

Here is the link to the podcast again:

https://open.spotify.com/show/1hvLLyamh26v9FSmSaFr3R

A Collection of Anointed Sermons on Podcast

Wednesday, 21st October 2026

Regular readers of my blog will know that the main reason why I stayed on in Paya Lebar Methodist Church ("PLMC") despite being made to step down as the Treasurer and a CG Leader by law-based Peter Koh back in July 2007 was because the then-TRAC President, Bishop Emeritus Wee Boon Hup had posted grace-based Rev Reuben Ng (a then-MOT who just graduated from TTC) to replace law-based Barnabas Chong as her Youth Pastor on 1 August 2007.

Rev Reuben's sermons are always focused on Jesus and His finished work, so I would listen to him on Sundays (whenever he preached) and then purchase Ps Prince's sermons to listen to when it was made available the Thursdays that same week.

I was quite the "fan-boy" of his, and bought all of his sermon recordings, and even compiled the 1st 100 of them onto a DVD-R, which he so graciously autographed.

I was de-cluttering my stuff recently and came across that autographed copy, which is definitely a collector's item haha.

I caught up with some PLMC members recently, and the common lament is that they miss Rev Reuben's preaching. He is the current TRAC President, a role that is largely administrative, so he hardly gets the opportunity to stand behind the pulpit nowadays.

As part of that de-cluttering, I also chanced upon a Samsung portable disk, on which I had stored in a folder all 121(!) sermons that he preached at PLMC before moving to Toa Payoh Methodist Church ("TPMC") on 1 August 2012.  I also have some of his TPMC sermons, but unfortunately, not all of them.

Here is a screenshot of that folder:

I did an AI search, and discovered that Spotify actually allows one to maintain an audio/video podcast channel totally free-of-charge!

They have an app known as "Spotify for Creators", where their familiar logo is coloured purple rather than green.

So dear PLMC members (and everyone out there in blogosphere), your wish is my command :-)

It will take some time for me to upload his entire 121-sermon library archive, so please bear with me.

For a start, you can listen to his 1st 40 sermons by clicking on the following link:

https://open.spotify.com/show/1hvLLyamh26v9FSmSaFr3R

Recalling the Year of Hesed Wisdom

Monday, 19th October 2026

Hesed Wisdom was the theme for 2018, the year my wife and I officially moved over to New Creation Church.

Besides de-cluttering cupboards, shelves, drawers, wardrobe, etc, in anticipation of the move to our condo, I have also had to do de-cluttering of data that were backed up on CD/DVD-Rs, thumb drives, portable hard disks, etc.

While looking through a particular thumb drive, I came across photos and videos that were snapped in 2018 that are worth watching, and have uploaded them here for everyone's viewing pleasure :-)

This photo was taken using a drone. It was at a gathering that I hosted for fellow drivers serving in the Logistics & Transport Ministry and their immediate family members:

L&T gathering

These are videos of the Hesed Wisdom flashing label affixed to a t-shirt:

            

Video recording of 《大胆宣告》 performed by the Merry Band of the Chinese Ministry at MBS:

Here are the lyrics to the abovementioned song:

Chinese Characters	Hokkien Pronunciation	Mandarin Pinyin	English Translation
岁数越大	Hui-soo lú tua	Suìshù yuè dà	The older I get,
力量越大	Lat-liang lú tua	Lìliàng yuè dà	The stronger I get,
全是耶稣祝福我	Cuan-si Yey-soo ciok-hok wa	Quán shì Yēsū zhùfú wǒ	It is all because Jesus blesses me.
我脚也有力	Wa ka ya u lat	Wǒ jiǎo yě yǒu lì	My feet have strength,
手也有力	Ciu ya u lat	Shǒu yě yǒu lì	My hands have strength,
全是耶稣祝福我	Cuan-si Yey-soo ciok-hok wa	Quán shì Yēsū zhùfú wǒ	It is all because Jesus blesses me.
血路都通畅啊	Wa hueh-loo long-zhong hor	xuèlù dōu tōngchàng ah	My blood circulation is entirely smooth,
身体又硬朗	Sing-ku ya yong-yong	Shēnti yòu yìnglǎng	And my body is robust and strong.
我眼睛明亮	Wa eh bak-jiu kim	Wǒ yǎnjing míngliàng	My eyes are bright,
脸又漂亮	Bin ya Swee	Liān yòu piàoliang	My face is beautiful,
[我人弗皱弗缩水] 一看就是年轻样	Wa lang bo jiu bo sok cui	Yī kàn jiùshì niánqīng yàng	One glance and you can see a youthful look.
我能吃能睡真辛福	E-ciak e-kun cin hok-ki	Néng chī néng shuì zhēn xingfu	Being able to eat and sleep well is such a blessing.
出入平安感谢祢	Cu-lip peng-an kam-sia li	Chūrù píng'ān gǎnxiè nǐ	Safe wherever I go, thank You!

Drone footage golfing with then boss Gary and sales colleague Desmond. The 4th ball was supposed to be my dad, but he backed out at the very last minute.

From Patrimonial to Matrimonial

Thursday, 15th October 2026

Regular readers of my blog will be aware that we will soon be moving out of my "patrimonial" home (ie. the one that my dad bought way back in 1978, and in which I have been staying for more than 80% of my life), and into what my wife calls our "matrimonial" home.

Why matrimonial home?  Read on.

When I was courting my then-girlfriend (now wife) in 1989 and into 1990 and 1991 (we got married at the end of 1992), dad decided to do some minor additions and alterations, which involved expanding the existing bedrooms, and creating a brand new bedroom where a side yard used to be.

While decluttering, I came across some architectural drawings dated April 1990.

In particular, shown below is the 1ST STOREY PLAN:

As one faces the entrance into the house, the new bedroom (as indicated by the green square) is on the left, towards the back of the house, while all the other bedrooms (including the master bedroom that my parents occupied) are on the right.  The red lines represent where the original walls used to be, and the green arrows pointing outwards indicate how the bedrooms were to be expanded outwards.

Note how all the other bedrooms are on one side of the house, while the newly-created one is on the other.

Note also there is only a single storey.  Mom was very adamant about this, because she did not want us kids to treat the house like a hotel.  Even if we were to retreat into our rooms upon coming home from school, we would still be within earshot whenever she announced that it was time to gather at the dining table for our dinner :-)

So, what was the purpose of the new bedroom with its own attached bathroom?  Let me explain.

All along. my mom had wanted me, being her only son, to continue staying with her and dad, even after I got married, so she asked him to specially construct a proper bedroom for my wife and I to stay in.  So sweet of her, ya?

And the timing could not have been more perfect.  Renovations were completed sometime towards the end of 1991 and beginning of 1992.  Very shortly thereafter, my bedroom became my matrimonial bedroom, when my wife moved in after we had our wedding dinner on 22 Nov 1992.

As you can imagine, I was rather the mummy's boy, so this arrangement suited me just fine.  It also meant that our future kids would always be in the good hands of their grandparents, allowing us to focus on our careers and not be worried about having to find them daycare or babysitters.

The side yard was rather huge, so they could build a bedroom of considerable size (about 15m² /160 sq ft), large enough to fit a queen-sized bed, wardrobes for my wife and I, a dresser, a couple of cabinets, a baby cot and even 2 mattresses to be placed on the floor.

The cot was used by our kids, before they progressed to the mattresses.  And that room was where the 4 of us (my immediate family) stayed in for a good 5 years until the mid-2000s.

In conjunction with my sisters moving out from their bedrooms, the kids took a room each.  So this house is very much their childhood home as well.

Anyway, back to what my wife calls our matrimonial home. The condo we are moving into is exactly that -- a place that we can finally call our very own :-)

When mom went back home to be with the Lord in Jun 2012, we went house-hunting for a place very nearby. Just in case dad asked us to move out, we did not want to be too far away from him. 

He didn't (chase us out), so we happily stayed on.  Our own place (which was purchased with tenancy) has been rented out to 3 different sets of tenants since.  Initially to an Indian family, then mainland Chinese, and then, most recently, Malaysians.

The latest tenants just vacated the place last week, and we commenced renovation just this week.

We are targeting to move in sometime early next year.  I am not at liberty to reveal the exact location.  Suffice it to say that Mr Seah Kian Peng will still be our MP :-)

How Do We Identify Ourselves? (Part 9)

Sunday, 11th October 2026

PART 9: OWNSELF EMPLOY OWNSELF

Pritam responds to ESM Goh

On 26 Aug 2015, the former ESM Goh Chok Tong said, "We are our own checks," at a press conference in response to a journalist asking whether Parliament needed more opposition members to provide a check and balance on the ruling party.

On 2 Sep 2015, Pritam Singh retorted, using the Singlish phrase, "ownself check ownself" to summarily describe what PM Goh was claiming, and that phrase has since been immortalised in local folklore.

Well today, I will talk about "ownself EMPLOY ownself", which is essentially what a sole proprietorship is all about.

After I left my previous full-time employment on 15 Jul 2020, there was a couple of years that I was totally out of the workforce, making the necessary adjustments to cater to my dad's decreasing quality of life.  After he got his stroke in June 2020, he was hospitalised for two weeks, then transferred to St Luke's where he stayed a month before being allowed to return back home.

He had to be bathed, diaper-changed, tube-fed, assisted in walking and attended weekly therapy sessions.  I also had to bring him to see his geriatrician on a regular basis, and also to monitor his medications and medical supplies.

After about 2 years, his condition stabilised, and with it, a predictable routine to his caregiving requirements, so that was when I seriously considered setting up a sole proprietorship.

(11) Akeraois Phronesis (11 Jul 2022 to date)

I had thought of the name Akeraios Phronesis for quite some time already, those being the Greek words ἀκέραιος for "innocence" and φρόνησις for "shrewdness" respectively, found in Matt 10:16.

Around that time, I got to know Patrick Bezalel Lee, and commissioned him to conceptualise a hyper-realism piece of artwork based on that very verse, for which he quoted me a very good, kingdom-friend price :-)

He shared the masterpiece he came up with in the following Instagram post.  Thanks Pat!

https://www.instagram.com/reels/Cnl5nI0SRd-/

Patrick Bezalel showcasing the artwork he did for Akeraios Phronesis

I then engaged fellow GraceUnited member Eve Elza Zoe Tian to design my name-card.  It was beautifully done.  Thanks Elza!

Name Card designed by Eve Elza Tian

Note how I intentionally use 4 corporate colours: purple, red, white and blue.  These are the 4 colours/materials used in the tabernacle curtains (see Exodus 26) and also the 4 colours representing the 4 Gospels and the person of Jesus Christ:

The 4 faces depicting
the person of Jesus in the Gospels

Purple = Royalty and Christ's Kingship (Matthew, where Jesus is the LION of Judah, the King of the Jews, descended from David)

Scarlet/Red = Blood Sacrifice (Mark, where Jesus is the OX, the Suffering Servant, with no pedigree)

White (Fine Linen)  = Purity and Humanity (Luke, where Jesus is the Son of MAN, descended from the first human, Adam)

Blue = Heaven and Deity of Christ (John, where Jesus is the Son of God, typified by the EAGLE)

I also bidded for the UEN number.  Note how it ends with a series of 7s and 5s :-)

The timing of setting up Akeraios Phronesis on 11 Jul 2022 could not have been more perfect, because a fellow NTU Christian Fellowship alumnus, FT Liu, invited me to speak at the Professional Development Conference held at the Lifelong Learning Institute on 13 Aug 2022. 

Yours truly was a speaker at PDC2022

And then 3 years later, it became the very vehicle I used to register the vehicle I bought for my son to use.  You can read about that here.

https://rootss.blogspot.com/2026/07/god-blesses-neverendingly-perfectly.html

By the way, I have also done the following write-up on LinkedIn:

Having worked for more than 30 years, many a time I have felt like a sheep in the midst of wolves. Yet the wisest Man said we should be shrewd as snakes while remaining innocent as doves.

Akeraios (“A”) and Phronesis (“P”) are the Greek words for "innocence" and “shrewdness" that were used in that passage in Matthew 10:16, hence the name.  The title Chief Mover/Shaker was inspired by 2 of my other passions: Trucking and Droning.

Feel free to engage me, and I will share with you through real-life stories on how to sharpen one’s P, while maintaining one’s A. Let us together become movers and shakers where we are placed in society.

So what is my station in life now?  

Unemployed?

I was exactly that from 23 Aug 2010 to 28 Feb 2011, and then again from 16 Jul 2020 to 10 Jul 2022.

Self-employed?

I have been this from 11 Jul 2022 to date.

Retired? 

I have not actively sought business for my sole proprietorship, so some would refer to me as a retiree.  I recently bought this shirt from Lazada, which defines "Retired" as "the ability to do what I want when I want" and also "not my problem anymore", which aptly describes my current circumstances :-)

Retired tshirt

In the next post, I will conclude this series with what our true identify should be.  So stay tuned!

How Do We Identify Ourselves? (Part 8)

Wednesday, 7th October 2026

PART 8: THE CFO WHO WRAP MOUNTAIN WRAP SEA, DO OX DO HORSE

Let's continue this series of posts with the job I stayed the shortest at.  It was for a total of 7½ months to be exact.

wrapping the mountain and the sea

Every salaried worker's dream is to become part of the C-Suite one day, ie. a Chief Executive Officer ("CEO"), Chief Operating Officer ("COO"), etc. 

For accountants, that would be the Chief Financial Officer ("CFO"), and it was no different for me.  And if it was that of a public company, lagi better, the compensation package would include ESPPs (employee stock purchase plans) and/or ESOPs (employee stock option plans).

Following from earlier posts, after my tenure at Walton ended on 18 Oct 2019, I wanted to take a long, well-deserved break (after more than 30 years of corporate life).  I played golf practically every other day in the month of November, and planned to do so in December as well.

In fact, I even did an advanced booking to play at the Els Club, Desaru on Mon 2 Dec 2019.  More on this later.

Did I want to go back into the workforce?  Only if it involved being the CFO of a listed company, or a company with ambitions to go public.

Remember that Infineon colleague who attends New Creation Church called Victor Poh who first introduced me to the gospel of grace back in 2005?

My whatsapp conversation with Victor

Well, he sent me a Whatsapp message on 1 Nov 2019 (just 2 weeks after I left Walton), asking whether I was keen on a CFO role for a company that was planning to get itself listed.  Duh, of course I was! I wanted to ask him if the Pope was Catholic :p

He asked for my CV so that he could forward it to a Mr K, who was his ex-boss. 

On 4 Nov, I met up with Mr K for a 1st round interview, and then on 18 Nov, I met up with him and a Mr T for a 2nd round interview.

Mr K and Mr T were the co-owners of a coal-mine in Indonesia through a company called Kitty Hawk Natural Resources ("KHNR") and were looking for a way to monetise it.

It so happened that there was a listed company in Singapore called Resources Prima Group Limited ("RPG") that itself used to own a coal-mine, but had lost control of it, technically becoming what SGX terms a "cash company" and risked getting de-listed unless they could find a sustainable business to inject into it.

One common way to do so is via what is known as a reverse takeover ("RTO").  Let me explain how that works.

In a typical takeover of another company (for example when Facebook bought over WhatsApp, or when Google bought over YouTube), a bigger fish ("the acquirer") eats up a smaller fish ("the target"). 

After the acquisition, the target's employees end up being made redundant because of duplication of roles in the enlarged group (In the above example, Meta and Alphabet would get rid of WhatsApp's and YouTube's highly-paid staff.  There was no point in keeping, for example 2 CFOs, when 1 single Group CFO could do the job).

In an RTO, the reverse holds true in that the acquirer ("A") is the smaller fish, while the target ("T") is the bigger fish.  After such a takeover, the acquirer's employees are the ones ending up being made redundant, because the target company is the one calling the shots.

On paper, A appears to be buying over T.  But in substance, T is the one taking over A.  An accounting principle known as "substance over form" is applied for RTOs, such that in the Group's consolidated accounts, what is eliminated is the share capital and pre-acquisition reserves of A against the investment by T in A.

SIA's Group and Company share capitals are the same

Let us look at a specific example.  In the financial statements of SIA, the share capital of the Group and Company are exactly the same.  That is because SIA the company acquired all the other subsidiaries, and at Group level, the share capitals of all the subsidiaries are eliminated against SIA's investments in them, leaving just the share capital of SIA.

RPG's Group and Company share capitals are different

Note how RPG's reflect different Group and Company share capital amounts.  This is because RPG itself was formed as a result of an RTO back in Nov 2014, when the former logistics firm Sky One Holdings acquired Indonesian coal miner Energy Prima.

RPG's shares were suspended since 22 Jun 2017, and SGX would only allow it to resume trading upon being satisfied that a legitimate business operation was injected into it.

Reuters' article on the RTO of KHNR

KHNR, a privately-held company with an operational coalmine, was an ideal RTO candidate. 

It would allow itself to be "taken over" by RPG, in exchange for the shares of the listco.  An RTO is also referred to as a "backdoor listing" because it is somewhat similar to an IPO (both require a prospectus), but it is a much quicker and less cumbersome way of going public.  

In summary, a successful RTO is a win-win for both the listed acquirer (because it avoids getting delisted), and also for the target (because it is a way to monetise its assets).

Mr K and Mr T told me that they would eventually make me the CFO of the newly-created KHNR group, but they first wanted me to join RPG itself, because their CFO had resigned.

This was an unusual arrangement because typically, the CFO of the target company becomes the Group CFO of the enlarged group, and the listco's CFO exits after the RTO.  In this particular case, the listco's CFO was leaving even before any RTO was to happen, and the target did not have its own CFO.

Nonetheless, I agreed to it because I had never worked in a listco before, and wanted to gain some hands-on experience.  They also gave me what I considered to be a very attractive salary package, made up of 60% in cash and 40% in shares.  RPG shares were last done at just 2.6 cents (what Mr T said was a "sweet spot" price), so there was a huge potential for it to double or even treble in value upon re-listing, effective doubling or trebling that 40% portion of my compensation.

They also wanted me to start work asap because the outgoing CFO's last day was 7 December, and time was running out for him to do a proper handover to his successor.

Remember how I mentioned about pre-booking a flight to play golf in Desaru?  Well, I had to cancel that game :-(

(10) Resources Prima Group Limited (2 Dec 2019 to 15 Jul 2020)

Upon joining RPG, I discovered from my predecessor (let's call him TTL) that I would be, as was he, the only full-time employee on the payroll.  RPG had to keep its costs down to the barebones minimum, so there was no physical office, no name card, no proper corporate email (I had to create and use a gmail account), etc.

I was expected to do what Hokkiens would describe as bao sua bao hai (包山包海) and Chinese describe as zuo niu zuo ma (做牛做马).  In other words, all and sundry, akin to laboriously working like an ox or horse.

Working laboriously like the ox and horse

TTL handed me the relevant source documents, passed me a thumb drive with the relevant data, introduced me to the relevant contacts, and at the end of that very week, went on his merry way.

Every 2 weeks, I would make a trip to the registered office in Ocean Financial Centre to collect correspondences and open them up to file.

I would be the sole liaison person dealing with the sponsor, auditors, current and potential investors, directors of both the listco and the target, corporate secretaries, share registrars, printer for the annual report, etc etc.

In just 7½ months with RPG, I released a total of 23 announcements on SGXNet.  These included monthly* updates (pursuant to 704(22) of the Catalist Rules), the Group’s full-year results, annual report, AGM, significant transactions, and various requests for extensions of time (including that relating to the submission of the proposal for resumption of trading). 

* Most listed companies just need to give quarterly updates, but those that are in financial distress are required to do so monthly, which is ironical given that such companies already face a shortage of manpower and resources.

But I took everything in good spirits because it meant learning on the job.  I essentially had the best of both worlds, working in what was similar to a start-up company that had to watch its cashflow closely, yet also simultaneously having to fully comply with the regulatory requirements of an actual listed entity.  The workload was also manageable, with predictable peaks and troughs.

I also believed in 前苦后甜 (bitter at the start, sweet at the end), because if the RTO was successful, I would be duly rewarded in terms of great job satisfaction, and also owning shares with huge upside potential.

Unfortunately, COVID-19 hit shortly after I joined, and the operations of the target's coal-mine were even suspended till further notice.

My dad then suffered a stroke on 10 Jun 2020 (while I was on a weekly Board conference call).  I tendered my resignation on 16 Jun so that I could spend more time with him.

I wrapped up FY2019 by making sure the AGM matters was properly handled, and also told Mr K that once my dad's condition stabilised, and upon the mine resuming operations, he could count on me to re-join the company.

Sadly after I left, RPG got a couple of further extensions from SGX but received a final rejection on 5 Nov 2021, ultimately leading to its shares being delisted on 25 Apr 2022.

When that happened, I also had to say goodbye to that 40% portion of my package.

Recently, I logged into my CorpPass account and note that I am still an authorised user of RPG Logistics Pte Ltd, a subsidiary of RPG that was incorporated in 2019, so that the expanded group could go into nickel-mining too.

I also still owe Victor that golf game.  He has been so busy that we have not fixed a time for that yet.

Oh ya, my designation as a staff of RPG was that of a "Financial Controller" rather than of a "CFO", as the Board wanted to avoid having to make an announcement on SGXNet.  My predecessor only stayed for 10 months, and the Board did not want to alarm investors about the high turnover of key management personnel.

It was just as well, as I stayed at the role even shorter than he did, so you will not see my name being in any way associated with RPG when you google it (you will unfortunately see his name when you do).

Business Times article on my predecessor

My successor EL was likewise given that same FC title.  I was, however, being made reference to (albeit not by name), on page 67 of the 2019 Annual Report (the one that I had put together).  That's my share-based compensation being disclosed in note 7.

Yours truly mentioned in the Notes

Oh by the way, the price of coal has trebled since 2020, from around US$50 per metric tonne to US$150 per metirc tonne.. Although Mr K and Mr T had to write-off the close to $1m which they injected by way of a convertible loan into what was ultimately a lost cause, it was a blessing in disguise that the RTO did not materialise, as they are still holding on to that mine that has since similarly gone up in value.