2020-03-01_Forbes_Asia

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MARCH 2020 FORBES ASIA

MALAYSIA’S 50 RICHEST

ADAM DEAN FOR FORBES

1. ROBERT KUOK
   $11.5 BILLION
   KUOK GROUP
   AGE: 96


2. QUEK LENG CHAN
   $9.7 BILLION
   HONG LEONG GROUP
   AGE: 78


3. ANANDA KRISHNAN
   $5.9 BILLION
   MAXIS
   AGE: 81


4. CHEN LIP KEONG
   $5.3 BILLION
   NAGACORP
   AGE: 72


5. TEH HONG PIOW
   $4.85 BILLION
   PUBLIC BANK
   AGE: 89


6. LEE YEOW CHOR
   & YEOW SENG
   $4.8 BILLION
   IOI CORP.,
   IOI PROPERTIES
   AGES: 53, 41


7. LIM KOK THAY
   $3.2 BILLION
   GENTING
   AGE: 68


8. KOON POH KEONG,
   POH MING & POH WENG
   $3 BILLION
   PRESS METAL
   AGES: 58, 63, 65

MALAYSIA’S

50 RICHEST

Despite the coronavirus outbreak taking

a toll on gaming, Chen Lip Keong is trying

his luck in Russia: his NagaCorp is building

a $300 million casino hotel outside Vladivo-

stok, due to open in 2021. “I like the entre-

preneurial spirit behind the development,”

Chen says. Booming growth at his Cambo-

dian casino complex helped push Chen’s net

worth up 6% to $5.3 billion, now at No. 4

on our list. NagaCorp’s share price has near-

ly doubled since November 2017 when the

Naga2 extension opened in Phnom Penh.

Chen, 72, has used the monopoly license

he won in 1994 to ride Cambodia’s eco-

nomic reemergence from decades of war

and, more recently, a wave of investment

and tourism from China into Cambodia.

In 2006, NagaCorp became the first casino

operator—and the first Cambodia-based

company—to list in Hong Kong; today it

has annual revenue of almost $1.8 billion,

up 19% last year, and a market capitaliza-

tion of HK$48 billion ($6.2 billion).

A former doctor, Chen got a sweet deal in

1994: a 70-year license that includes a gam-

ing monopoly in Phnom Penh and the sur-

rounding 200 kilometers that was recently

extended to 2045, and special tax breaks.

“Dr. Chen was in the right place at the right

time,” says Michael Zhu, senior vice presi-

dent at U.S. gaming consultancy The Inno-

vation Group.

From his first casino on a river barge,

Chen built NagaWorld into a major resort,

becoming a billionaire. He then invested

$369 million to build Naga2. Now he’s

building the $3.5 billion Naga3, slated

to open in 2025, with 3,500 rooms plus

convention and entertainment facilities.

This latest extension will be linked to the

current complex underground, similar to

the NagaCity Walk retail corridor linking

NagaWorld and Naga2. “Naga3 may sound

ambitious and at first blush appears out-

sized, but this company understands the

dynamics of the market,” says Klebanow

Consulting’s Andrew Klebanow, who is

based in Las Vegas.

Chen says his Russian project represents

as big an opportunity as he found in Cam-

bodia when he launched Naga in 1994.

“The entry costs should not weaken our

ability to travel a long journey ahead to see

success,” says Chen. —Muhammad Cohen

Coloring Up

CHEN LIP KEONG

CHANGE IN WEALTH KEY:

UP DOWN UNCHANGED

NEW TO THE LIST RETURNEE

Artist rendering

of NagaWorld

Vladivostok