2020-03-01_Forbes_Asia

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FORBES ASIA MARCH 2020

COURTESY OF HARTALEGA

SLOW MOTION

The richest take a hit amid political uncertainty and virus fears.

alaysia’s slowing econ-

omy, now getting hit

by the coronavirus

outbreak, took a toll on

its tycoons. A weaker

ringgit and a nearly 10% decline in

the country’s benchmark stock index

combined to pull the wealth of the

country’s 50 richest lower for the sec-

ond year in a row. Their collective net

worth is $79 billion, down 7% from

a year ago. (The surprise resignation

of Prime Minister Mahathir in late

February took the index down further

after we had locked in net worths.)

Nonagenarian business legend Rob-

ert Kuok, with a net worth of $11.5

billion, remains at No. 1, a position he

has held for over two decades. Kuok is

among four list members whose wealth

shrank by more than $1 billion in the

past year. The hardest-hit in dollar

terms was banking tycoon Teh Hong

Piow, the founder of Public Bank, who slipped to No. 5 from

No. 3 last year.

AirAsia’s Tony Fernandes and Kamarudin Meranun

saw more than a third of their respective fortunes vanish.

Aside from the coronavirus onset curtailing air travel, an-

other blow to their fortunes came in early February after a

UK court ruling implicated AirAsia and unnamed execu-

tives in an Airbus bribery case. AirAsia has denied all allega-

tions of wrongdoing and said it is investigating the matter.

In all, 22 listees saw their net worth decline from a year

ago, but an equal number were modestly better off. Among

the latter group was casino mogul Chen Lip Keong, who

M

moved into the top five for the first

time; he’s at No. 4 with $5.3 billion.

Another gainer is Kuan Kam Hon,

who controls Hartalega Holdings, the

world’s largest maker of nitrile gloves.

Five newcomers enter the ranks

this year, the richest of whom are a

pair of inheritors. Brothers Lee Yeow

Chor and Lee Yeow Seng share a

$4.8 billion legacy left by their fa-

ther Lee Shin Cheng, the architect of

a palm oil and property empire, who

died last June. This year’s new faces

include two tech entrepreneurs: Chu

Jenn Weng, founder of electronics

maker ViTrox; and former Hewlett-

Packard engineer Oh Kuang Eng,

whose Mi Technovation makes semi-

conductor equipment.

Five from last year’s list are miss-

ing this year, most notably Grab co-

founder Anthony Tan. With a lofty

valuation of $14 billion, the ride-

hailing decacorn Grab has grown from its Malaysian roots

to become a regional player headquartered in Singapore.

Tan, a Singapore citizen, therefore may be a candidate for

that country’s rich list. Four others didn’t make the cut this

year, including property developer Leong Kok Wah of Eco

World, who was affected by a glut of new property that de-

pressed prices.

Reporting by Megha Bahree, Muhammad Cohen, Sean Ki-

lachand, Anis Shakirah Mohd Muslimin, Suzanne Nam,

Phisanu Phromchanya, Anuradha Raghunathan and Jes-

sica Tan. Editing assistance by Lucinda Schmidt.

THE LIST MALAYSIA’S 50 RICHEST

BY NAAZNEEN KARMALI

METHODOLOGY

The list was compiled using information from the individuals, stock exchanges, analysts, private databases, government agencies and other

sources. Net worth estimates are based on stock prices and exchange rates as of the close of markets on February 14. Private companies

were valued by using financial ratios and other comparisons with similar publicly traded companies.

No. 9

Kuan

Kam Hon