Lee Kuo Ai

Senior Writer, Business News, Lianhe Zaobao

Lee Kuo Ai is Lianhe Zaobao's senior business writer. She currently helms a daily commentary on US market performance and a bi-monthly feature on alternative investments including luxury watches, handbags and even toys. She is also a familiar voice on SPH Radio's 96.3好FM (96.3 Hao FM), having been invited frequently to share her thoughts on her feature on alternative asset classes. 

A Be@rbrick exhibition in Fuzhou, Fujian province, China, 14 March 2023. (CNS)

'A wall full of Be@rbricks is worth as much as an apartment in China’

A Be@rbrick figure, named after auteur Stanley Kubric and first created by Japanese toy maker Tatsuhiko Akashi, can be worth thousands of dollars and finds fans from Japan to China to Singapore. Even celebrities like Jay Chou, JJ Lin, Lee Chong Wei, Z Tao, and G-Dragon are avid collectors. Chances are that you have seen these bears sporting their portly bellies without paying them much attention. In fact, these adorable and fashionable bears have become collectibles and an alternative investment. So, what makes Be@rbrick figures so highly sought after?