Subsequently, he started up SIS Technologies in 1983 with $100,000 in seed money from his father, who was in the sugar business.
However, IT was still not an established sector nor a traditional business at that time.
“Convincing his father and family was probably not easy. But small experiments saw early signs of success, and they continued to support his determination to grow the IT distribution business,” said Gartner Advisory senior executive partner Ben Tan, himself a veteran in the business and technology sector.
Mr Lim was credited with bringing many tech companies to Singapore and the rest of Asia through his distributorship. He managed to convince the brands to take advantage of his distribution network as a way to make inroads into the South-east Asian region.
“It helped that KH was very personable, educated in the US and understood technology well. As such, he could persuade many tech vendors to come to Singapore,” Mr Tan said.
Among the software brands Mr Lim brought into the region were Adobe Illustrator, Aldus Pagemaker, Harvard Graphics, Lotus 1-2-3, dBase and WordPerfect.
Mr Tan recounted: “At that time, I was just a product manager at Microsoft, and he spent quite a bit of time with me to ensure critical initiatives were successful, such as the launch of Microsoft Windows XP and many more.”
Ms Chng recalled that “in the 1990s, there was a lot of pirated stuff in the domestic market”, adding: “KH helped to build the PC ecosystem, distributing global products – genuine products.”
Mr Abdul Rahman, a former public relations consultant who worked with Mr Lim, said: “KH added depth to the fledgling IT retail industry, by adding a home-grown IT product distribution network. With SIS, local PC dealers, value-added resellers and solution providers have access to a strong local distributor.”
Mr Saw Ken Wye, a former vice-president and managing director of Microsoft Singapore, noted that “SIS is built on the foundation of Mr Lim’s family members. His wife, Milly, complemented his business acumen”.
Mr Lim’s wife is a homemaker. None of his four children – sons Lik Xian and Lik Rong, and daughters Lik Shi and Lik Qi – is in the tech industry.
“Despite being in a business with cut-throat margins, he was able to build and grow the business,” said Mr Saw, who had been friends with Mr Lim since 1997.
Mr Saw added: “He had a keen eye for opportunities too, I recall KH being an early investor in MediaRing – possibly the biggest listing success in Singapore during that period.”
MediaRing was a pioneering Singapore-based internet and telecommunications company that was listed in 1999 under new rules allowing “loss-making” technology companies to go public, generating significant excitement as a result.
Mr Lim also diversified his business into real estate and asset management in 2015. “He was also quick to pivot to new opportunities, investing heavily in Japanese properties,” Mr Saw noted.
At a regional level, Mr Lim was “a prominent voice and advocate for Singapore and Asia within the industry”, said Mr Ananth Lazarus, managing director of Global Technology Distribution Council (GTDC) in charge of the Asia-Pacific excluding Japan.
GTDC is a global industry association representing the world’s leading technology distributors that counted Mr Lim as one of its founding members.
Mr Lazarus described Mr Lim as “a doyen of the tech distribution ecosystem in Asia, given the depth of his knowledge, his experiences and his sheer passion, which were outstanding”.
Ms Kwan recalled: “His relentless pursuit of his vision was always tempered by kindness and respect for those around him, making him a well respected figure in our industry.
“I will always cherish his warm smile, even in challenging moments, which was capable of uplifting spirits.”
