Tan Sri Vincent Tan Chee Yioun - Founder and controlling shareholder of Berjaya Group By Izwan Idris

by **Cals** Sun 29 Dec 2013, 23:58

Published: Saturday December 28, 2013 MYT 12:00:00 AM
Updated: Saturday December 28, 2013 MYT 11:40:58 AM
Tan Sri Vincent Tan Chee Yioun - Founder and controlling shareholder of Berjaya Group
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WHILE Vincent Tan has handed over the reins of his sprawling Berjaya Group to his son Datuk Robin Tan, the elder Tan remains the man to watch next year, both on the corporate front and the sporting pages.
On Christmas day, the 61-year old billionaire bought himself another football club in Europe, this time Bosnian Premier League outfit FK Sarajevo. Media reports quoted Tan as saying that he intends to establish co-operation deals between the club and his English Premier League team Cardiff City FC.
The Bosnian acquisition was announced even as Tan continues to struggle to win back Cardiff fans’ waning adulation following his unpopular moves to change the club’s colours and recent treatment of its manager.
Observers have noted that the club would need to remain in the top flight of English football to ensure a successful listing on the stock market, as some reports have indicated.
The Berjaya Group’s sprawling business empire, which the elder Tan founded, saw two successful listings in 2013 – Caring Pharmacy Group Bhd and its Mazda dealership Berjaya Auto Bhd.
However, a plan to list Berjaya Sports Toto Bhd’s business trust in Singapore was aborted due to unfavourable market condition, while the proposal to sell shares in 7-Eleven chain operator Seven Convenience Bhd in Malaysia to the public had hit a snag.
These plans could be revived in 2014.
Meanwhile, there are other possible initial public offerings (IPOs) related to the group being bandied about in the market, including the potential listings of MOL Global Pteand U Mobile Sdn Bhd.
Vincent Tan is the chairman of U Mobile.
Recently, he had roped in the Sultan of Johor to take up a 20% stake in Berjaya Times Square Sdn Bhd (BTSSB), the owner of Berjaya Times Square in Kuala Lumpur and prime properties in Johor Baru. The sale had raised some eyebrows as it had resulted in a loss to Berjaya Assets Bhd.
BTSSB is a unit of Berjaya Assets Bhd, in which Vincent Tan has a direct 49.88% stake, Bloomberg data showed.
He is no stranger to controversy and it will be interesting to watch how the “retired’ tycoon continues to play the game his way, on and off the field. – By Izwan Idris