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FORBES ASIA MARCH 2020
THE LIST
JOSHUA PAUL/BLOOMBERG
Lack of Interest
TEH HONG PIOW
Public Bank’s chairman emeritus, Teh Hong
Piow, saw his fortune buffeted by headwinds
in Malaysia’s banking industry. Public Bank
“is not immune to the subdued sentiments,”
says Teh, 89, in emailed comments. Aside
from global uncertainties, slower growth
and an interest rate cut in Malaysia have
“posed further pressure on banks’ earnings,”
he adds.
Teh saw $1.85 billion shaved off his net
worth since the last list as shares in the
country’s second-largest bank by market
value declined roughly 30%. Teh, who re-
tired as chairman last year, started the bank
in 1966, which now has 428 billion ringgit
($103 billion) in assets. In addition to his
emeritus title, Teh remains a director and
advisor to the bank.
With the U.S.-China trade war hurt-
ing growth prospects, investors last spring
began selling Malaysian bank shares in a bet
the central bank would cut interest rates.
It obliged in May, cutting for the first time
since 2016, then again in late January, bring-
ing its benchmark rate to a nine-year low of
2.75%. The coronavirus crisis will also likely
weigh on growth, and therefore earnings.
“Profitability will be affected for all the
banks in the short term at the very least,”
says AllianceDBS Research analyst Chin
Jin Han in Kuala Lumpur. The decline in
Public Bank’s stock also reflects lackluster
results over the past year, he says. In No-
vember, the bank posted a 1.5% decline in
third-quarter earnings.
Despite the challenges, Teh remains opti-
mistic. The banking sector will continue to
be a key driver in financing popular afford-
able housing, and to support the govern-
ment’s development of the small and mid-
sized business sector, says Teh in the email.
—Jessica Tan
Teh Hong Piow (center left) at the bank’s 2018 annual general meeting in Kuala Lumpur.
MALAYSIA’S
50 RICHEST
- KUAN KAM HON
$2.8 BILLION
HARTALEGA HOLDINGS
AGE: 72
- LAU CHO KUN
$2.3 BILLION
HAP SENG CONSOLIDATED
AGE: 84
- FRANCIS YEOH
& SIBLINGS
$1.7 BILLION
YTL CORP.
AGE: 65
- JEFFREY CHEAH
$1.45 BILLION
SUNWAY
AGE: 74
- SYED MOKHTAR
ALBUKHARY
$1.4 BILLION
DRB-HICOM
AGE: 68
- LIM WEE CHAI
$1.35 BILLION
TOP GLOVE
AGE: 62
- G. GNANALINGAM
$1 BILLION
WESTPORTS HOLDINGS
AGE: 75
- SURIN UPATKOON
$980 MILLION
MAGNUM
AGE: 70
- TIONG HIEW KING
$976 MILLION
OREGON GROUP
AGE: 84
