Robert Kuok

Infobox celebrity
name = Robert Kuok Hock Nien

zh-c|c=郭鶴年


caption = © AFP/Getty Images puic|
log=2008_July_29
birth_date = Birth date and age|1923|10|6|mf=y
birth_place = Johor Bahru, JohorMAS
children = 8
death_date =
death_place =
occupation = Chairman, Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts Chain
salary =
networth =gain $10 billion
website =
footnotes = Has the nickname of the "Sugar King of Asia"

Tan Sri Robert Kuok Hock Nien (zh-stp|s=郭鹤年|t=郭鶴年|p=Guō Hènián) (born October 6, 1923, in Johor Bahru, Johor), is an influential Malaysian Chinese businessman. According to Forbes his net worth is estimated to be around $10 billion on May 2008, making him the richest person in Southeast Asia. [http://www.forbes.com/lists/2008/10/billionaires08_Robert-Kuok_ARHN.html Robert Kuok] , Forbes, February 2006]

Kuok is media shy and discreet; most of his businesses are privately held by him or his family. Apart from a multitude of enterprises in Malaysia, his companies have investments in many countries throughout Asia. His business interests range from sugarcane plantations (Perlis Plantations Bhd), sugar refinery, flour milling, animal feed, oil and mining to finance, hotels, properties, trading and freight (International Shipping Corporation, Transmile Group) and publishing.

Biography

Kuok's father arrived in Malaya from Fujian, China at the beginning of the 20th century, and Kuok was the youngest of three brothers, born on October 6, 1923, in Johor Bahru. He claims he began in business as an office boy, and later started a business with relatives' support. [http://sunzi1.lib.hku.hk/newspaper/view/23_09.03/30576.pdf Secretive billionaire forsakes retirement] , The Standard, September 14, 1993] In fact, upon graduation, he worked in the grains department of Japanese industrial conglomerate Mitsubishi between 1942 and 1945

Kuok senior died in 1948, and Kuok and his two brothers founded Kuok Brothers Sdn Bhd in 1949, trading agricultural commodities. Under the new post-colonial government, Kuok began in the sugar business alongside the government. In 1961, he made a coup by buying cheap sugar from India before the prices shot up. He continued to invest heavily in sugar refinery, controlled 80% of the Malaysian sugar market with production of 1.5 million tonnes, equivalent to 10% of world production, and so earned his nickname "Sugar King of Asia".

In 1971, he built the first Shangri-La Hotel, in Singapore. His foray into Hong Kong property was in 1977, when he acquired a plot of land on the newly reclaimed Tsim Sha Tsui East waterfront, where he built the second hotel, the Kowloon Shangri-La. In 1993, his Kerry Group acquired a 34.9% stake in the South China Morning Post from Murdoch's News Corporation.

His companies have investments in many countries, including Singapore, Thailand, Mainland China, Indonesia, Fiji and Australia. Businesses in China include 10 bottling companies for Coca Cola, ownership of the Beijing World Trade Centre.

His political influence is attested by his having been selected as one of the advisors on Hong Kong's future in the runup to the transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong, and his minority stake in CITIC Pacific. He was also instrumental in conveying information and setting up the meetings between Malaysia and China governments leading to full diplomatic cross recognition of the two countries.

Kuok has married twice and has eight children. He officially retired from the Kerry Group on April 1, 1993. Nowadays, Kuok Khoon Ean one of Robert's sons, handles most of the day-to-day operations of his businesses. He is currently residing in Hong Kong.

References