SINGAPORE: Malaysian tycoon, Robert Kuok, has topped the nation’s rich list for the ninth consecutive time, according to the latest Forbes Malaysia Rich List.
Kuok held the pole position since 2006 when Forbes started ranking the richest Malaysians.
He is worth US$11.5 billion, down by US$1 billion from last year.
The 90-year old has built a business empire that includes palm oil, shipping, media, hotels and real estate.
The second-richest person on this year’s list is Ananda Krishnan who retains his spot with a net worth of US$11.3 billion, just down from US$11.7 billion previously.
The 75-year old Krishnan’s vast business interests includes telecommunication giant, Maxis, pay TV and power generation.
In third place is casino magnate Lim Kok Thay, who runs the Genting Group with resorts and casinos in the Bahamas, London, Singapore, Malaysia, Manila and New York.
His company is accelerating its global footprint with new casino resort projects in Las Vegas and Jeju Island in South Korea.
He shares his net worth of US$6.5 billion (down from last year’s US$6.6 billion) with his mother, Lee Kim Hua, and other family members.
Moving up one notch to fourth place is Quek Leng Chan, who chairs Hong Leong Co. (Malaysia) with heavyweight subsidiaries Hong Leong Financial Group, property investor Guoco Group and Lam Soon, maker of food and household-cleaning products.
The banking and property mogul saw his fortune rise by US$1.6 billion to US$6.4 billion, making him the biggest gainer in dollar terms.
Brothers Shahril and Shahriman Shamsuddin (No. 11) saw their net worth jump by a third to US$1.4 billion from US$1.05 billion, previously.
Earnings at SapuraKencana Petroleum soared 77 per cent to an estimated US$302 million in fiscal year 2014.
Markets have rewarded that performance by pushing up the stock 55 per cent in the past year, giving the company a market capitalisation of US$8 billion.
Despite a year plagued by weakening ringgit, slowing economy and lackluster stock market, Malaysia now boasts of 18 billionaires, up from 14 a year ago.
Among those joining the billionaire ranks is Thai national and long-time Malaysian resident Surin Upatkoon (No 13, US$1.3 billion).
He enjoyed a 61 per cent jump in his fortune after selling a big stake in Thai Telecom InTouch.
Mokhzani Mahathir (No. 15, US$1.2 billion) also joined the billionaires club after getting a 22 per cent lift from his oil-and-gas stocks.
Another notable first-time billionaire is real estate tycoon Danny Tan Chee Sing (No. 16, US$1.15 billion), who saw his wealth surge by 121 per cent to US$1.15 billion from US$520 million last year Goh Peng Ooi (No. 17, US$1.1 billion) cracked the billionaire ranks thanks to the soaring stock of his software company Silverlake Axis, which helped increase his fortune by 49 per cent.
A bounty of new names – some 13 in all – also added a fresh cast to this year’s roster.
Two sizzling sectors spawned almost half of the newbies – glove manufacturing and oil-and gas services.
Synthetic-glove maker Kuan Kam Hon (No. 22, US$880 million), is the second highest-ranked newcomer.
Oil and gas tycoon Ngau Boon Keat (No. 30, US$590 million) of Dialog Group also saw his wealth soar by providing specialised services to refineries.
Lim Kang Hoo, in 19th place, almost made billionaire status in his debut, coming in at US$975 million.
He owes his fortune to the red-hot Iskandar property market as does another newcomer, Leong Hoy Kum (39th place) with a wealth of US340 million.
Other newcomers on this year’s list include Syed Azman Ibrahim (No. 31, US$560 million), who heads Southeast Asia’s largest helicopter service for offshore oil rigs, Weststar Aviation; Kossan Rubber’s Lim Kuang Sia (No. 34, US$430 million); shipping magnate Ling Chiong Ho (No. 35, US$425 million) of Shin Yan Group; retailer Teoh Beng Seng (No. 41, US$315 million) of Asia’s largest homegrown multi-level marketing company, Zhulian Corp.; Wah Seong’s Tan Chin Nam (No. 46, US$240 million); Yinson Holdings’ Lim Han Weng (No.47, US$235 million); Kretam Holdings’ Freddy Lim Nyuk Sang (No. 48, US$230 million); Stanley Thai (No. 49, US$225 million), founder of Malaysia’s first branded latex-glove company, Supermax and IGB Corp’s Robert Tan (No. 50, US$220 million).
The minimum amount required to make the list was US$220 million, up from US$145 million last year. — Bernama