My Entrepreneurship Journey

My venture into entrepreneurship began with my desire to attain financial independence and security in order to support my children and to provide them with a quality education and lifestyle. I believe it is this basic determination coupled with my strong interpersonal skills and investment acumen that led me to build and run a successful boutique real estate agency with a history of close to 30 years.

In 1988, my husband at the time had a job opportunity to work in Singapore and I joined him in relocating there. During this time, I recognized the strong capital appreciation potential of the Singapore property market and availability of favorable financing options. I proceeded to encourage my friends in Hong Kong to jointly invest in multiple properties there. This experience piqued my interest in the real estate industry and I returned to Hong Kong in 1993 to set up Jade Land Properties, purchasing a street-level shop on Caine Road in the Mid-levels.

Over the years, Hong Kong’s turbulent property market created a series of challenges which I took as opportunities to reinvent my company’s business model and to expand its scope of service. In 1997, the onset of the Asian Financial Crisis created unprecedented economic hardships on my business yet the situation pushed me to find new business opportunities through facilitating mortgagee sales. I was appointed by two multinational French banks as their only appointed real estate agency responsible for networking distressed asset vendors with prospective buyers.

My foray into interior design sprung from the redecorating my own property and later re-selling it at a much greater price. I realised that I could apply my sense of style into renovating properties. I introduced the concept of upscaling otherwise dated and aesthetically unappealing apartments to chic homes in the traditionally prestigious Mid-levels district in Hong Kong – a “win-win” accretive property investment approach that enhances comfort for the tenant and the overall value of the property for the owner.

With the rising Hong Kong property prices and equally high stamp duties, I sought to provide a greater range of investment options to my clients. I identified auspicious markets abroad including Canada, Malaysia and the UK and handpicked quality developments to assist my clients in developing their property portfolios.

About Dr Theresa Fok
Dr Theresa Fok, founder and Managing Director of the award-winning boutique real estate agency Jade Land Properties (HK) Limited, is a property investment expert with entrepreneurial vision and over two decades of extensive experience in real estate investment and property management across the Asia Pacific region.

The Standard’s Master Class
The Standard’s brand new online video series ‘Master Class’ features the successful female entrepreneur Dr Theresa Fok, who has made notable achievements both in business and in her family. She shares with the audience her recipe for success and finding happiness in the face of adversity.