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Kishin RK (Singapore Billionaire)

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Kishin RK (born 1983 as Kishin Hiranandani) is a property developer and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of RB Capital, a real estate acquisition and development company that owns properties such as the Intercontinental Hotel Robertson Quay, Far East Plaza and Holiday Inn Express Clarke Quay.[1][2] He is also the second-generation scion of Royal Holdings. In 2019, Kishin gained recognition for being Singapore’s youngest billionaire.[3][4] He has been featured on Tatler Singapore's ‘300 List’, a compilation of the most powerful and influential people in the country.[5]

Kishin RK
Kishin RK.jpg
Born
Kishin Hiranandani

1983
EducationBachelor of Science (Real Estate)
Alma materNational University of Singapore

Background

 
Kishin RK (pictured in the background) and his father, Raj Kumar. Photo from source.

In 2020, Kishin and his father, Raj Kumar appeared on the Forbes list of Singapore’s 50 Richest, coming in at 13th place. Their combined worth is reportedly $2.6 billion.[6]

Family

Kishin RK was born as Kishin Hiranandani in 1983.[5][7] His father, Raj Kumar, is a real estate mogul and the founder of Royal Holdings, a multi-billion dollar real estate business.[4] As he grew up, Kishin dropped the Hiranandani surname and adopted his father’s initials instead, thus going by Kishin RK.[8] Kishin's uncle is Asok Kumar Hiranandani, the founder and chairman of Royal Group Holdings, a multi-billion dollar property investment company that owns properties such as the Sofitel Sentosa Resort and Raffles Villa.[9]

Early life

As a child, Kishin accompanied his father to company meetings and learnt about the ins and outs of property purchasing from a young age.[3] He reportedly purchased his first apartment when he was just 12 years old.[10][11] Speaking about spending time in his family’s business as a teenager, Kishin was quoted to have said:

“I was a very cheap intern, always interning in the family business. I wouldn’t even call myself an intern. I was there. An intern contributes to the firm. I was absorbing from the firm. I continue to absorb and I don’t think I’ll stop. I was exposed to everything, every business decision. It started becoming more familiar over time.”[4]

By the time he was 18 years old, Kishin realised his passion for real estate and started working full-time in his father’s company after completing his degree in 2003.[4]

Education

Kishin RK studied at Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) during his primary and secondary school years.[4] After which, he was a student at Anglo-Chinese Junior College.[12] He then enrolled in the National University of Singapore (NUS) and graduated with a Bachelor of Science (Real Estate) from the School of Design and Environment.[13]

RB Capital (2006 - current)

 
Kishin spearheaded the Quayside project between 2013 and 2017. Photo from source.

As of October 2020, Kishin RK is the CEO of RB Capital, a real estate acquisition and development company that focuses on properties in the Asia Pacific region. In an interview with Robb Report Singapore, Kishin identified himself as a property developer and not an investor. He says:

"An investor buys a building and collects rent. A developer looks at a grass patch and sees the possibilities of what he can create there."[14]

Kishin's portfolio includes the notable Quayside project at Robertson Quay that received much media coverage for its neighbourhood revitalisation efforts.

Origins

At 23 years old, Kishin RK started RB Capital using proceeds obtained from selling a Meyer Road apartment which had been a gift from his parents.[3][7] That same year, RB Capital acquired Menara Genesis, a 26-story building in the business district of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and turned it into the HSBC Bank Building, named after its anchor tenant.[15]

Portfolio - Major projects

In 2010, RB Capital reportedly outbid the real estate firm, Far East Organisation for a hotel site in Clarke Quay worth $101 million.[7][16] Kishin developed the site into Holiday Inn Express Clarke Quay, the franchise’s largest property in Southeast Asia.[17] In 2012, RB Capital won a bid for a 33,000 square foot plot in Little India, above Farrer Park MRT Station.[7][18] The plot of land was developed into Farrer Square Medical Suites, a premium medical centre for travellers.[19] Aside from office and hospitality spaces, Kishin’s RB Capital also owns retail spaces such as Far East Plaza, Lucky Plaza and Cuppage Terrace.[20]

Quayside (2017)

 
The Quayside. Photo from source.

RB Capital completed the Quayside redevelopment project in 2017 after acquiring a 120,000 square foot waterfront site along Robertson Quay four years earlier.[21][22][23] Talking about the Quayside project to Tatler Singapore, Kishin was quoted to have said:

"Today, the residents look at Quayside and they can connect with it... They can spend their Sunday afternoons here with their families, there are lots of options for them to dine out instead of cooking at home. It’s become a community. Maximising profits is one thing, but what’s important is to really understand the positioning of an asset in a neighbourhood."[24]

Quayside is home to a collection of restaurants and bars that cater to the residents living in and around Robertson Quay. It is also in proximity to the private members' club, 1880. The project reportedly cost S$900 million in sum.[25]

TiffinLabs (2019 - current)

In 2019, Kishin and three other business partners co-founded TiffinLabs, an online food delivery company that aims to provide consumers with the best in-home dining experience.[26][27] The company uses data analytics to identify and predict consumer trends and has launched virtual restaurants such as the pizzeria, Publico Express and Chinese cuisine-serving Madam Wong’s to provide a variety of choices for their consumers.[28]

Food is Love Foundation (2020)

In April 2020, Kishin and his co-founders initiated the TiffinLabs 'Food is Love Foundation' to provide 30,000 free meals to those affected by the economic downturn due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[29][30] TiffinLabs' chefs prepared 20,000 meals for the needy while the other 10,000 free meals were given to Singapore's healthcare workers.[31] In an interview with The Straits Times, Kishin said the following when asked about the foundation's purpose:

“We want to make sure there is food in every household. That no one goes hungry. I feel sad at seeing how many people all around the world are affected by Covid-19. And what comes to mind is: how can we help them?”[31]

Overseas expansion

In July 2020, it was reported that TiffinLabs’ would be expanding its footprint overseas by creating a thousand cloud kitchens across Asia, Europe and America.[32][33] Cloud kitchens are centralised operations where dishes from virtual eateries can be prepared simultaneously for food delivery purposes.[34] According to The Straits Times, TiffinLabs' first cloud kitchen is set to open in the fourth quarter of 2020.[32] Speaking in an interview with Channel News Asia (CNA) about using data analytics to identify and predict consumer behaviour, Kishin said:

“What we’re seeing with data and how data analytics has helped business is really predicting what people are going to be eating within delivery zones across the world. So we look at delivery zones around the world, we know what the demand is currently and what can we do to either complement the current demand, or change that demand."[35]

Board positions

The following is a list of board positions that Kishin RK has held over the years.

Year Organisation Role Refs.
2019 - current TiffinLabs Chairman [26]
2006 - current RB Capital Chief Executive Officer [2]
- current Singapore River One Director [36][37]
Weybourne Holdings Non-executive Director
Raffles Place Alliance Director

References/ Citations

  1. ↑ “Kishin RK”. Tatler Singapore. n.d. Accessed on 5 October 2020.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 “About”. RB Capital. n.d. Accessed on 5 October 2020.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Hong, Xinyi. “Singapore's Youngest Billionaire Kishin RK On How He Is Disrupting The Real Estate Industry”. Tatler Singapore. May 15, 2019. Accessed on 5 October 2020.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Chiang, Sheila. “Kishin RK: How This Real Estate Mogul Became S'pore's Youngest Billionaire At Age 37”. Vulcan Post. September 3, 2020. Accessed on 5 October 2020.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 “Kishin RK”. Tatler Singapore. n.d. Accessed on 5 October 2020.
  6. ↑ "#13 Raj Kumar & Kishin RK”. Forbes. n.d. Accessed on 5 October 2020.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Cheong, Germaine. “His Own Man: Kishin RK”. The Peak Magazine. October 6, 2015. Accessed on 5 October 2020.
  8. ↑ “A passion for real estate”. Singapore Office Space Investment Sales and Rental. May 13, 2013. Accessed on 5 October 2020.
  9. ↑ “About Us”. Royal Group. n.d. Accessed on 5 October 2020.
  10. ↑ Williams, Dan. "Singapore’s youngest billionaire, the dashing Kishin RK, bought his first apartment aged 12 and thrives on 8 coffees a day". South China Morning Post. August 26, 2020. Accessed on 8 October 2020.
  11. ↑ A Magazine. "We Asked Singapore's Youngest Billionaire, Kishin RK, Questions He's Rarely Asked". YouTube. August 10, 2020. Accessed on 8 October 2020.
  12. ↑ Kishin Rk. "Work and Education". Facebook. n.d. Accessed on 5 October 2020.
  13. ↑ National University of Singapore. "Billionaire with a heart of gold". Facebook. April 28, 2020. Accessed on 5 October 2020.
  14. ↑ Shamilee Vellu. "Interview with Kishin RK, the man behind Robertson Quay in Singapore: “I’m a developer, not a real estate investor. I look at a grass patch and see the possibilities of what I can create”". Robb Report Singapore. August 31, 2017. Accessed on 8 October 2020.
  15. ↑ “Office”. RB Capital. n.d. Accessed on 5 October 2020.
  16. ↑ "$101 MILLION TOP BID FOR HOTEL SITE". TODAY. September 1, 2010. Accessed on 8 October 2020. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
  17. ↑ “Hospitality”. RB Capital. n.d. Accessed on 5 October 2020.
  18. ↑ "RANGOON RD/FARRER PARK HOTEL SITE ATTRACTS 10 BIDS". TODAY. April 8, 2012. Accessed on 8 October 2020. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
  19. ↑ “Farrer Square”. Singapore Medical Suites. n.d. Accessed on 5 October 2020.
  20. ↑ “Retail”. RB Capital. n.d. Accessed on 5 October 2020.
  21. ↑ Eu, Geoffrey, Yen Meng Jiin and Lena Kamarudin. "Quay to Success". The Business Times. June 17, 2017. Accessed on 8 October 2020.
  22. ↑ Ankita Varma. "Bold vision is Quay for developer". The Straits Times. December 3, 2017. Accessed on 8 October 2020.
  23. ↑ "Property magnate’s son with a vision [ARTICLE]". The Straits Times. October 21, 2017. Accessed on 8 October 2020. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
  24. ↑ Hong, Xinyi. "Meet The Man Who Revitalised Robertson Quay, Kishin RK". Tatler Singapore. April 15, 2018. Accessed on 8 October 2020.
  25. ↑ Zachariah, Natasha Ann. "Lifestyle enclave Quayside set to invigorate Robertson Quay with hotel and dining". The Peak Magazine. October 26, 2017. Accessed on 8 October 2020.
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 "Our Team". TiffinLabs. n.d. Accessed on 5 October 2020.
  27. ↑ “What We Do”. TiffinLabs. n.d. Accessed on 5 October 2020.
  28. ↑ “Our Restaurant Brands”. TiffinLabs. n.d. Accessed on 5 October 2020.
  29. ↑ “Food is Love Foundation”. TiffinLabs. n.d. Accessed on 5 October 2020.
  30. ↑ Tee, Karen. "Food Is Love Foundation: Feeding the needy during pandemic times". The Peak Magazine. August 16, 2020. Accessed on 8 October 2020.
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 Tan, Theresa. “Coronavirus: Food firm founded by billionaire Kishin RK sets up foundation to provide free food to those in need”. The Straits Times. April 23, 2020. Accessed on 5 October 2020.
  32. ↑ 32.0 32.1 “Singapore property tycoon Kishin RK to open 1,000 cloud kitchens across Asia”. The Straits Times. July 21, 2020. Accessed on 5 October 2020.
  33. ↑ Kang, John. "Billionaire Kishin RK Carves A Tasty Niche Amid Pandemic With TiffinLabs". Forbes. August 20, 2020. Accessed on 8 October 2020.
  34. ↑ Colpaart, Ashley. “Everything You Need to Know About Cloud Kitchens (aka. Ghost Kitchens) in 2020”. The Food Corridor. December 5, 2019. Accessed on 5 October 2020.
  35. ↑ “CNA+: Interview with Kishin RK, Tiffinlabs Chairman And Co-founder”. Channel News Asia. June 27, 2020. Accessed on 6 October 2020.
  36. ↑ Almagro, Marc. “The Community Whisperer”. Portfolio Magazine. May 14, 2018. Accessed on 5 October 2020.
  37. ↑ “Kishin RK”. Forbes Asia Next Frontiers Forum. n.d. Accessed on 5 October 2020.
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