Koh Boon Hwee on being an investor in gaming hardware start-up Razer

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Detail of a Razer gaming mouse, taken on March 2, 2016.

Besides moving Razer beyond “just making nuts and bolts,” Koh also noted it wasn’t obvious to others in the business community at the time just how large the gaming industry was.

“Gaming is a really, really big business,” Koh added, highlighting the professional e-sports space where audiences number in the tens of millions.

“Today, for example, I can tell you that revenues from gaming — hardware, software, games and so on — exceed the revenues generated by all TV, all movies, all books, all magazines, all newspapers combined,” Koh explained.

As for his stake in Razer, Koh said the company’s IPO plans are not necessarily a means for him to cash out as an investor.

“I tend to be a very long-term holder of companies … Why would you totally cash out of a business in an industry that is still growing 25 to 30 percent a year?”