Feng shui maven Lillian Too bullish on 2013; bets on banks, plantation stocks

LILLIAN Too paces the stage at the Singapore Expo and addresses the 4,500-strong audience with an earnest fervour. "Oh my god! Can you feel the energy in this place?" she exclaims. "The Year of the Snake is going to be a very good year for many of us; careers will improve, businesses will prosper, stock markets will recover and investors will get richer!" The crowd roars in appreciation and applauds thunderously.

Too is a feng shui practitioner like no other. With an MBA from Harvard University (Class of 1976), she was once CEO of billionaire Quek Leng Chan's Malaysia-listed Hong Leong Credit (now Hong Leong Financial Group) and Hong Kong-listed Dao Heng Bank (which is now part of DBS Group Holdings). She went on to help Hong Kong retail tycoon Dickson Poon build his Hong Kong-listed Dickson Concepts, which today operates more than 300 high-end retail stores in Hong Kong, China, Taiwan and Singapore, including Harvey Nichols and S.T. Dupont.

She later organised the leveraged buyout of Hong Kong department store chain Dragon Seed Group by partnering Indonesian investment company First Pacific, which is controlled by tycoon Anthoni Salim. By 1995, Too had cashed out and retired from the corporate world. She then chose to devote herself to the practice of feng shui, which she says had been of interest to her for years.

"I have always practiced feng shui in every aspect of my life," she tells The Edge Singapore during an interview at the Orchard Mandarin hotel a day after the Feng Shui Extravaganza. "That has brought me good luck in my career." During her time as a banker, she came to know "the top feng shui masters in Hong Kong, China and Taiwan" in her quest to improve her luck and personal well-being by tapping the secrets of Chinese geomancy. "That was when my knowledge of feng shui went up by leaps and bounds."

Too then discovered that her knowledge of feng shui was in hot demand. After leaving the corporate sector, she soon found herself providing feng shui advice and consultancy services to a growing list of clients. Too has written more than 300 books on feng shui, with more than 10 million copies sold across the globe, making her the best-selling author in the field. She also operates a chain of stores that sell her brand of feng shui paraphernalia and fashion accessories. And, she owns wof.com, an online feng shui merchandising and magazine site.

Then, there are events such as her annual Feng Shui Extravaganza, which was held at the Singapore Expo last month. This was the 12th year that the show was held in Singapore, and tickets were priced at $128.

What makes Too such a hit in the feng shui business? With a background in banking and finance, she doesn't shy away from making bold market predictions. In fact, she actively manages her own investment portfolio, focused on equities and currencies. "I am like an investment banker on the side and follow the market closely. I also analyse the political situation and really familiarise myself with what's going on in the world."

The way Too sees it, investors can't succeed by relying on feng shui alone. "To be a successful investor, you must have knowledge of the markets and know when to buy and sell," she says. "But I also have the added benefit of knowing feng shui and being able to read the charts. That gives me a very good feel for the state of the world and global economy."

Too also has a talent for making feng shui principals and ideas easy to understand. "It has a lot to do with common sense and analysis using knowledge of the elements, and is not to be dismissed as superstition," she says. "Feng shui is part of our lives whether we like it or not. Why do you think Singapore is so successful? You are sensitive to the environment; everything is clean and planned based on common sense. That's good feng shui."

Good year for markets

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Feng shui maven Lillian Too bullish on 2013; bets on banks, plantation stocks