HONG KONG: Indonesian businessman Mochtar Riady, founder and chairman of Lippo Group, was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Business Administration by the Baptist University of Hong Kong yesterday.

As one of the wealthiest in Indonesia, Riady is known as a specialist in helping ailing banks. He has turned the deficits of several Indonesian banks into handsome surpluses. He also established the Panin Bank by merging four banks and later developed it into the country's largest private bank. What is less well known is that Riady studied philosophy in a university in Nanjing in the 1940s. As an ethnic Chinese, he is deeply rooted in Chinese classical philosophy.

"Great oaks grow from little acorns; A road of thousand miles begins with single step," Riady philosophized, quoting ancient Chinese sage Lao Tse's thoughts freely, reflecting the profound impact ancient Chinese wisdom has had on his personal behavior and business skills. "This is the most important spirit that I have learned from Chinese classical philosophy. It could be applied to families, enterprises, nations, and countries," he said.

He shared his thoughts on the philosophy and wisdom of business success by writing books, such as his Ancient Philosophy and Modern Management.

Riady is strongly optimistic about China's rise. "China will have a rapid booming in the period of more than the next 100 years," he said.

He was convinced of this after seeing the huge progress in science and technology that China has made. China's accomplishments achieved in space technology and nanotechnology have strengthened his conviction. "(China's level of) nanotechnology at least is not second to Europe or the United States," he said.

Riady is specially interested in the property industry in China. He compared it with mature industries in Singapore, United States, and Hong Kong, and said, "The industry has just started - for a dozen years in China. I think it is a great opportunity."

The development of Lippo Group in Hong Kong is just his first step to explore the promising China market aggressively. "Hong Kong is our base," he said.

He also used the words "a bright future" to describe the prospect of business relations between China and Indonesia.

China has become a world manufacturing center with a rising need for natural resources, while Indonesia is a country blessed with natural resources in Asia, he observed.

Real success goes hand in hand with great generosity. Riady has ploughed a significant portion of his fortune back into education. He set up the Pelita Harapan School and Pelita Harapan University in Indonesia. The Baptist University of Hong Kong has also received a total of HK$32 million from the Riady family over the years, to support various development projects, including student hostels and the Chinese Medicine Library.

(HK Edition 11/11/2009 page1)