MBA City
(Published by http://portal3auat.hktdc.com, May 2013)
Financial services specialist Leland L Sun, Managing Director and founder of Pan Asian Mortgage, has built a flourishing business on two of Hong Kong’s pillar industries: financial services and real estate. Moving from California to Hong Kong in 1993 to work with Goldman Sachs, he started Pan Asian Mortgage in 2000.
The firm’s initial focus was to help clients refinance their mortgages. “These borrowers had purchased residential properties in the mid-1990s, the market peak, only to see the value of their homes decline by 70 per cent from 1997 to 2003,” Mr Sun said.
“Hong Kong is the best Harvard Business School case study for entrepreneurs"
“Since 2004, Pan Asian has assisted more than 10,000 first-time homebuyers and home switchers by providing mortgages at a higher loan-to-value (LTV) ratio than what commercial banks in Hong Kong are permitted to offer.”
From seven employees at start-up, Pan Asian now has more than 40 staff in Hong Kong. More than a mortgage lender, the company has become the second-largest mortgage broker in Hong Kong. Its sister company in Chongqing, set up in 2007, provides financial guarantees on SME loans.
“Hong Kong is the best Harvard Business School case study for entrepreneurs,” Mr Sun said. “Even the largest local companies started out as SMEs.
“Hong Kong has long been the gateway into China and, in recent years, a gateway from China to the rest of the world. For many reasons, Hong Kong is still a top choice for entrepreneurs and SMEs to set-up their operations, especially if they plan to market into Asia.”