Alumni ties:

Chris Cheah keeps connected with Australia

Chris Cheah (RGS 1984) was growing up in Singapore when two of his friends from his school in Penang went to study at RGS and he followed them. Today, Chris still has strong ties with Australia. Based in Singapore, Chris is the founder and joint CEO of TrustCapital Advisors Investment Management and Chairman of the Australian Alumni Singapore Council of Advisors.

Australian Alumni Singapore (ASS) keeps connected the thousands of Singaporean students who have studied university in Australia.

Chris still recalls his school and university days in Australia.

“From memory, I had to fly to Sydney or Melbourne, then to Brisbane then to Rockhampton. It was quite a journey and I arrived late and had to stay a night at Leichardt Hotel,’’ Chris said.

“I had problems pronouncing the hotel name to the cab driver and was relieved to get there eventually. The country Australian accent was quite challenging for me. “Mate” sounds like “Mike” and I was wondering why is everyone, including me called Mike and not our name.”

Chris was a boarder in Year 11 and day student in Year 12.

“I never stayed at a boarding school before and found it very restrictive and struggled with the food,’’ Chris said.

“I enjoyed playing sports – soccer and basketball (Chris represented Capricornia in basketball) and that helped a lot. I was introduced to State of Origin, which I eventually grew to love and continue to support the Maroons to this day.

“People are generally friendly once you get to know them better. I had a few very nice home stays, in Rocky, the Sunshine Coast and Brisbane. I also topped Economics and Modern History in Year 12, two subjects that were new to me that I enjoyed studying.”

After graduating from RGS, Chris graduated with the University of Queensland in 1987 with a Bachelor of Commerce, Majoring in Accounting.

In an interview with the Australian High Commission Singapore, Chris recalled why he loved studying in Australia:

“I love the simple things Australia offers - fresh fruits, veggies, meat, seafood, wine etc., are in abundance, relatively cheap and very high quality! Of course, the countless wonderful places to visit and, for golf lovers, many beautiful yet affordable golf courses to play. My time in Australia was the golden period for Queensland sports. Alan Border was the Captain for Cricket, Michael Lynagh for Rugby Union and King Wally for Rugby League. It was great to be a Queenslander, which I regard myself to this day. I continue to support Brisbane Broncos, Maroons and Wallabies.”

After university, Chris worked for Drake Murphy & Schoenmaker Chartered Accountants from 1987-1991 before returning to Singapore. Chris then worked in Corporate Banking for DBS Bank from 1991 – 1993, followed by many years at ANZ Bank, from 1993 – 2009, where his last role was Head of Property Asia. Chris founded TrustCapital in 2009.

“My journey in Australia, followed by my career in accountancy and banking, especially with ANZ Bank were all strategic to where I am today,’’ Chris said. TrustCapital is a private equity real estate firm based in Singapore with Australia as its primary long term investment destination.

“We have completed over AUD$3b worth of transactions so far and they have contributed significant amount of tax revenues to Australia. Stamp duty alone is over $200M for the various states in the country,’’ Chris said.

Like many others around the world, Covid-19 was a challenging time for Chris in Singapore.

“The Singapore government has done an excellent job generally. As for our business, we continued to work hard and do good business in spite of the challenging environment,’’ Chris said.

Business aside, Chris is also passionate about keeping university alumni connected in Singapore. From 2014-2018, Chris was President of Australian Alumni Singapore and from 2018 to the present, is Chairman of The Council of Advisors, Australian Alumni Singapore.

“I am extremely passionate about making Australian Alumni Singapore (AAS) a huge success as part of my giving back to Australia. AAS is now the most successful and active overseas alumni association in Singapore,’’ Chris said. In 2022, Chris was awarded with a Lifetime Achievement award in recognition of his dedication and contribution to the Australian Alumni Singapore (AAS).