Still on Richard S. Lim

Editor’s Note: Last Monday, August 17, we received a letter from the lawyers of Richard Sy Lim, saying that he is the Richard S. Lim of Derchuan Industrial Co., Inc, but that he is not the Richard S. Lim who bought the San Rafael, Bulacan lot of First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo.

We looked again at the original blog post uploaded August 13, 2009, and noted that the way it was written did not seem to allow the possibility that the Richard S. Lim listed in the records of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and cited in the post could be more than one individual.

We have therefore revised the post to reflect this possibility. At this point, however, that is as far as we can go given the sparse data on the man who bought the lot nestled in the foothills of the Sierra Madre for P41.5 million.

Richard S. Lim, Mystery Man

HE ENGAGED in a multimillion-peso transaction with First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo, but Richard S. Lim remains a mystery to the PCIJ. Lim, who bought the First Gentleman’s 2.9-hectare lot in San Rafael, Bulacan last year had turned down requests for a face-to-face interview several times. Instead, he resorted to text messages and e-mails in corresponding with PCIJ.
“Due to the nature of my business, I’d rather stay low profile,” he said in a text message. “I’ve already disclosed my trade in mining which was better left unsaid in the first place.”

Lim is neither a public official nor a government employee. Aside from the now known fact that he bought the Arroyo land for P41.5 million, there seems to be little information about Lim that is available to the public.

Lim himself says he is a businessman engaging in buy and sell. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), meanwhile, lists a Richard S. Lim as an incorporator in at least four companies: Micropac Computer Corp., Derchuan Industrial Co., Inc, Derchang Electrical Industries Inc., and Hi-Life Health Spa Corp.

Only Derchuan Industrial and Hi-Life Health Spa are currently registered; Micropac Computer and Derchang Electrical Industries have had their registration revoked by the SEC. Save for one extra number, which may or may not be a typo, the address of Richard S. Lim of Hi-Life Health Spa is the same as that of the buyer of the Arroyo lot in Bulacan. The SEC’s recorded address of Richard S. Lim, president and chairman of Derchuan Industrial, is not.

Derchuan is a company whose primary purpose is “(to) engage in, conduct and carry on the business of buying, selling, distributing, marketing at wholesale and retail …” It registered with the SEC on August 23, 1993 and holds office in Novaliches, Quezon City. Its general information sheet indicates that it has an authorized capital stock is P5 million, with a paid up capital of P1.24 million.

SEC records show a Richard S. Lim as a stockholder of the company, along with two Filipinos (Wilbert S. Lim and Elaine C. Garcia) and two Chinese nationals (Lee Ming Tao and Fan Chih-Mei). He has subscribed shares worth P450,000 in Derchuan.

Derchuan’s audited financial statement shows that it had a net income of P161,036.71 in 2007, slightly higher from P150,839.92 in 2006. The statement also indicates the firm’s total assets and total liabilities and stockholder’s equity are both at the same amount of P2.9 million, as of December 2007.

The Richard S. Lim who appears as a stockholder of Hi-Life Health Spa, located in Barangay Manresa, Quezon City, has subscribed shares in that company worth P375,000.

Other stockholders of the company are Henry S. Tan, Lolita S. Ching, Loraine S. Tan, and Ma. Gemma C. Galpo. Hi-Life Health Spa’s audited financial statements show that it had a cash balance of P178,686.25 and net loss of P732,376.99 in 2008. The statement also indicated the company’s total assets and total stockholder’s equity are also both at the same amount of P3 million, as of December 2008. Hi-Life was registered with the SEC on November 1, 2004. – Karol Anne M. Ilagan, PCIJ, August 2009