Highlight: Kuok’s children seen battling for HK$300 billion fortune

Highlight: Kuok’s children seen battling for HK$300 billion fortune | Print |
Written by Ho Wah Foon of theedgemalaysia.com  
Monday, 23 September 2013 12:08

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THE children of Robert Kuok Hock Nien, Malaysia’s richest man, are positioning themselves to grab a share of the tycoon’s wealth worth HK$300 billion (about RM130 billion), according to Hong Kong’s Next Magazine.

“Kuok Group appears calm on the surface without any squabbles, but a battle for wealth and position is brewing within its HK headquarters,” the Chinese magazine said in its just-released cover story, quoting family friends and fund managers.

This is seen as another classic story of the billionaire who has clearly not identified his successor.

Known for its investigative reports on the scandals of the rich and famous, Next Magazine remarked that though Kuok has “retired” and delegated managerial positions to his children, he has been going to Kerry Group Ltd’s headquarters regularly to deliberate on major decisions.

“Kuok Hock Nien declared his retirement in 1992, but he is still not taking a rest. It is retirement without rest,” observed the magazine, which is feared by wealthy celebrities in Hong Kong.

The magazine noted that Kuok, dubbed “Asia’s Sugar King”, has not named any successor to his sprawling business empire, mainly centred on Hong Kong, China, Malaysia and Singapore.

Ranked by Forbes magazine as one of the world’s top 50 richest men in March, Kuok moved his corporate headquarters to Hong Kong from Kuala Lumpur in 1975, reportedly due to his distaste for the New Economic Policy (1971-1990).

The main listed companies controlled by Kuok are Hong Kong-based Kerry Properties Ltd, Shangri-La (Asia) Ltd and South China Morning Post; Singapore-listed Wilmar International Ltd; and Malaysia-listed PPB Group Bhd.

(On Friday market close, PPB Group Bhd was the top loser on Bursa Malaysia after sliding 50 sen or 3.4% to RM14.08 per share. A local Chinese newspaper attributed this to the Next Magazine’s story. At noon today, it gained two sen to RM14.10.)

It is known that Kuok remarried after the death of his first wife. Among the adult children by his two wives, five are holding key positions in the Kuok group of companies.

The magazine said the first signs of a family struggle for positions surfaced in August when Kuok’s eldest son, Khoon Chen, “suddenly resigned” from Kerry Properties to take the coveted executive chairman’s post at Shangri-La (Asia), replacing his younger brother Khoon Ean.

Khoon Chen shot to fame in the 1980s, not for corporate reasons, but for his courtship of famed Taiwanese singer Teresa Teng. But he had to give up his first love after strong opposition from his grandmother — the person who was most respected by his father.

His “strained relationship” with his father forced him away from the limelight until recently, the magazine said.

“This return to Shangri-La Asia could mean a lot for Khoon Chen as the hotel chain is the darling and pride of Kuok Hock Nien,” Next Magazine commented.

Shangri-La Asia’s top post was left vacant just before the company released its mid-year results in August, which showed a 66% plunge in core profit.

Quoting an unnamed family friend, Next Magazine wrote: “Originally, this second son [Khoon Ean] was slated to be the key successor, but he could not take the pressure and had to take long sick leave. During his absence, his elder brother took the post.”

However, taking over the top post at Shangri-La Asia does not mean “total comfort” for Khoon Chen, said Next Magazine.

This is because there are three siblings from a different mother at the head office to watch out for as well as a cousin at Wilmar International in Singapore.

Kuok has also tried to groom his second wife’s children, said to be “very close and dear” to him. His youngest son Khoon Wah is his private assistant and follows him everywhere to meet important businessmen and close friends. Khoon Wah lives with Kuok and their offices are next to each other.

The businessman has also put his “blue-eyed girl” and Harvard-educated eldest daughter Hui Kwong in charge of South China Morning Post. She was CEO of the influential newspaper in 2012, but is now its executive director. Recently, Kuok’s youngest daughter Yen Kwong also joined Kuok Group.

Next Magazine noted that while his eldest son’s holding in family company Kerry Group was raised to 13.52% recently, up slightly from 13.52% in December last year, his eldest daughter’s stake was raised to 11.87% from 3.22%.

“This is an indication that Kuok Hock Nien has been favouring his second wife’s children in recent months,” Next Magazine said.

Besides his five adult children, there is their 63-year-old cousin in Wilmar International. Kuok Khoon Hong, Wilmar’s chairman and CEO, is said to have won praise from Kuok for his capability and intelligence.

Khoon Hong is credited with having started and built Wilmar into the world’s leading palm oil planter and trader. The group now has a market capitalisation of about HK$130 billion.

Next Magazine, quoting an unnamed fund manager for the Kuok Foundation, said: “At a family meeting, Robert Kuok commented casually that Khoon Hong may be a better successor for his business empire.”  

Kuok, who will celebrate his 90th birthday next month, may still need time to ponder who should be his key successor, said the magazine.

But for a firm believer of hard work and diligence, and strong Chinese values like Kuok, it is no easy task to decide who should be the captain of his business empire and possibly even inherit his values.


This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly, on September 23, 2013