Tan Sri Robert Kuok Hock Nien

10 Biography

If there really is a real sugar daddy, it’s Robert Kuok. Not because he is a Casanova or

some sort, but simply because the sugar business made him a celebrity business. Robert Kuok

Hock Nien was born in October 6, 1923, in Johor Bahru and he was the youngest among

three brothers. He is an influential Malaysian Chinese businessman. According to Forbes his

net worth is estimated to be around $9 billion, making him the richest person in Southeast

Asia.

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.

Just like Boon Siew and Lim Goh Tong who migrated from China, Kuok's father

arrived in Malaya from Fujian, China at the beginning of the 20th century. And unlike the

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late Boon Siew and Goh Tong, Kuok is one educated wealthy man. He received his early

education in an English school and later enrolled into the Raffles College in Singapore, with

Lee Kuan Yew as one of his school mates. He had a short stint working with Japanese

company, Mitsubishi after his studies in Raffles was halted due to Japanese invasion, before

helping his father with trading business.

After his father’s death, Kuok and his two brothers made a decision to continue the

business legacy, starting with sugar distribution and a few other commodities under the new

post-colonial government. Their business skills were picked up from their father, who was an

avid trader. In 1961, he made a coup by buying cheap sugar from India before the prices shot

up. Kuok’s massive involvement in sugar industry allowed his company to become the

government’s supplier and Kuok opened up sugar refinery plants to grow it further. At the

peak of his business, he was controlling as much as 80% of the Malaysian sugar market with

production of 1.5 million tonnes, equivalent to 10% of the global export market, and so

earned his nickname "Sugar King of Asia".

Driven by the success of his sugar business, Kuok swiftly expanded his business

into flour milling, shipping, logistics, oil and gas and hotels. His rise to success, fame and

prominence is attributed to both his expertise in spotting opportunities and his strong network

with the big, corporate and government people. 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. Kuok controls the Shangri-La hotel chains and is the largest

shareholder of Transmile Group Berhad, which was involved in accounting irregularity

scandal in 2007, plunging down the share price. Besides that, his Kerry Group acquired a

34.9% stake in the South China Morning Post from Murdoch’s News Corporation in 1993.

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 He is said to be checking his hotels every now and then to make sure that the staff

are giving the service of highest quality. At times he invited taxi drivers for free lunch at the

hotel’s cafe. Kuok is considered a true gentleman when dealing with people, including his

employees. There is a story of Kuok asking permission from a cabin crew to smoke a

cigarette in aeroplane he owns. When the crew told him that he wouldn’t need to ask

anyone’s permission, he responded by saying that he is just asking in a capacity of a normal

passenger.

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 run up 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 retires from the Kerry

Group on April 1, 1993. Nowadays, Kuok Khoon Ean, one of the Robert’s sons, handles most

of the day-to-day operations of his business. He is residing in Hong Kong currently.

2.0 The Kuok Group

The Kuok Group began business as Kuok Brothers Limited in 1949 in Johor Bahru,

Malaysia, trading rice, sugar and wheat flour. Business activities expanded in 1953 with the

opening of a Singapore Branch, Kuok (Singapore) Limited. From these humble beginnings,

the Kuok Group has grown to become one of Asia's most diversified and dynamic

multinational conglomerates.

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 The driving force behind the Group's growth is the Kuok family, whose vision and

commitment to hard work and excellence over two generations have made the Kuok Group a

market leader in many areas. From the start of its operations, the Group has embodied the

basic values of integrity, loyalty and discipline. These values have served as the foundation

for its achievements over the past 46 years.

From its established trading bases in Malaysia and Singapore, the Group expanded its

operations in the 1950s and 1960s to Thailand and Indonesia. It focused on complementary

and related activities for growth, and also pursued new businesses and trading opportunities,

especially in commodities, that resulted in trading links with companies in Hamburg, Paris,

London and New York.

Hong Kong and China became the focus of further regional expansion in the 1970s

and 1980s after a group of senior managers established Kerry Holdings Limited in Hong

Kong in 1974. The name "Kerry" has since become identified with the Kuok Group's

extensive operations in Hong Kong and China.

The Group has built up a management team with a great depth and breadth of

experience and knowledge. The team continues to devote itself to the expansion of the

Group's businesses, particularly in Asia's developing markets, in areas that complement the

Group's businesses, particularly in Asia's developing markets, in areas that complement the

Group's interests and expertise. Central to its future growth is the commitment to retain the

values that are at the heart of the Kuok Group's success.

2.1 Shangri-La Asia Ltd

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 "T o spend money is

to earn money"."If the

food in the staff canteen is

good, the food in the hotel

is good" (Robert

Kuok used to check the food

at the staff canteen at least once a year, insisting on having the best staff canteen of all

hotels).

Shangri-La Asia Ltd. is the Asian region's leading and fastest-growing luxury hotel

group. The company, part of Malaysia's Kuok Group, operates 45 hotels throughout Asia. In

2005, the company also began a drive into the European and North American markets,

including the launch of construction on its first European hotel, in London, expected to be

completed in 2009. The company also has opened its first hotel in the Middle East, in Dubai,

and in the Maldives. Mainland China, however, forms the heart of the company's empire,

with more than 20 hotels in operation, and at least 15 more expected to open before 2010.

Shangri-La is unusual among international hotel companies in that it owns a

significant proportion of its hotels. So, the hotels under the group's management not wholly

owned by the company, most are owned by other companies in the Kuok Group, and

especially by Shangri-La's own major shareholder, Kerry Properties Ltd. Shangri-La hotels

primarily operate under the luxury, five-star Shangri-La brand. The company also operates a

smaller number of mid-range, business-oriented Traders hotels. Listed on the Hong Kong and

Singapore Stock Exchanges, Shangri-La remains a tiny part of the Kuok business empire.

Nonetheless, founder Robert Kuok holds an active interest in the group, and has stated his

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desire to see Shangri-La reach 100 hotels in his lifetime. In 2004, the company posted

revenues of $726 million.

Inspired by the legendary land featured in James Hilton’s novel Lost Horizon

published in 1933, the name Shangri-La encapsulates the serenity and service for which

Shangri-La is renowned worldwide. The group has two brands: Shangri-La and Traders

hotels. Shangri-La properties are primarily five-star deluxe city centre and resort hotels with

the majority of the city centre hotels having over 500 guest rooms, whereas the resort

properties tend to be slightly smaller. Shangri-La’s tradition of service excellence started with

the opening of the Shangri-La Hotel, Singapore in 1971. The hotel’s 15 acres of landscaped

gardens, beautifully appointed guest rooms and gracious Asian style set a new standard for

hotel excellence, which to this day continues to guide the group’s design features.

Training is Shangri-La's top priority and significant resources are allocated annually

to ensure employees have the skills and knowledge to be the best in their fields. This has

earned the group international awards and recognition from guests, prestigious magazines as

well as industry partners and made Shangri-La one of the preferred hotel employers, with

over 30,000 people serving guests with the philosophy “Shangri-La Hospitality from Caring

People.”

Since its origin, the group has grown rapidly to satisfy the increased demand for

deluxe hotels and resorts in Asia Pacific's capital cities and most sought-after leisure

destinations. Today there are 65 properties, of which only 18 are third party management

agreements, throughout Asia Pacific, North America and the Middle East, representing a

rooms inventory of over 28,000. In addition, there are over 40 projects under development

including locations in Austria, Canada, mainland China, France, India, Macau, Malaysia,

Philippines, Qatar, Russia, Seychelles, United Kingdom and the United States.

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 Shangri-La also operates its own dedicated sales and marketing offices: Hong Kong,

Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Singapore, Tokyo, London, Los Angeles, New York, Sydney,

and Dubai. The group is linked to 30 frequent flyer programmes and has its own frequent

guest recognition programme – Golden Circle. The Golden Circle programme has been

acknowledged as being one of the best in the industry with over one million current members.

2.2 Kerry Properties Limited

Kerry Properties Limited has been formed to hold the Hong Kong and China property

and infrastructure investments of the Kuok Group--an international, multi-faceted

conglomerate with interests ranging from commodities trading and media to the renowned

Shangri-La hotel chain. Kerry Properties builds its success on its commitment to quality and

an entrepreneurial flair for selecting prime sites in quality locations. With the depth of

management expertise of the Kuok Group behind it, Kerry Properties is poised for further

growth following the reunification of Hong Kong and China.

Kerry Properties Limited is one of the most prominent companies in the enormous

network of companies owned or controlled by Robert Kuok. Kerry Properties principally

buys and develops real estate in Asia. It owns both residential and commercial property in

Hong Kong as well as office buildings, car parks, and apartment buildings in China. It has a

large stake in several major construction projects such as the Western Harbor Crossing

Tunnel and a new airfreight terminal in Hong Kong, and the Shanghai expressway in China.

It also owns millions of square feet of godown (warehouse) space in Hong Kong. Kerry

Properties works closely with the Shangri-La chain of luxury hotels, which is also owned and

operated by Robert Kuok companies. Kerry often buys the land that the hotels are later built

on, and develops commercial and residential buildings in neighbourhoods surrounding a

Shangri-La hotel.

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 Robert Kuok is one of the most powerful businessmen in Asia, a figure comparable

to Rupert Murdoch in the vastness of his holdings. Kuok's businesses include sugar

plantations and refineries, shipping companies, edible oil refineries and distributorships,

chemical plants, construction projects including prominent new office buildings in China,

Malaysia, the Philippines, and elsewhere, the Shangri-La hotel chain; Coca-Cola bottling

franchises in Australia and China, the largest English-language daily newspaper in Hong

Kong, and a controlling stake in a Hong Kong television network, which is the world's largest

producer of Chinese-language programming. These businesses are densely interconnected.

Most are private companies. Some, like Kerry Properties, are publicly owned, and others,

such as the Coca-Cola bottling franchise in China, are joint ventures. Many are operated by

members of the Kuok family. Robert Kuok himself, aged 74 in 1997, is actively involved to

varying degrees in the management of his many companies.

2.3 PBB Group Berhad

PPB's history paralleled the rise of the Kuok family in Malaysia through the 20th

century. One of Malaysia's largest companies and one of the largest conglomerates in the

ASEAN market region, PPB Group Berhad has established diversified operations ranging

from food to cinemas to water and wastewater engineering. Foods remain PPB's historic and

primary business, accounting for 90 percent of the company's revenues of M$7.86 billion ($2

billion) in 2002. More than 72 percent of those sales are generated through the company's

vertically integrated edible oils, especially the oil palms business, through publicly listed

subsidiary PPB Oil Palms (PPBOP). Sugar refining and cane plantations, the company's

original business, added 9 percent to sales, while grain and feed milling, through the

company's majority shareholding in FFM Bhd, another publicly listed subsidiary, added 8

percent to sales.

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 The mature Malaysian market, coupled with strict price control on basic food items,

has encouraged PPB to seek international growth for its food operations, and the company

has entered Indonesia, Vietnam, Singapore, and other countries in southeast Asia and

elsewhere in the world. Other operations under the PPB umbrella include businesses involved

in packaging, livestock farming, and cinemas, through Golden Screen Cinemas.

Despite its continued focus on foods, PPB is in the process of reinventing itself for the

new century, targeting the water and wastewater engineering market for future growth. The

company, through engineering subsidiary Chemquest, also publicly listed, has acquired a

major share of the consortium holding the concession for the Sungei Semenyih Dam and

Water Treatment Plant, and has plans to enter the Chinese market in 2003. Although PPB is

itself traded on the Kuala Lumpur stock exchange, the company is controlled by the Kuok

Group, one of the region's top conglomerates.

3.0 Kuok Foundation

Kuok Foundation is one of the options for all students who are pursuing tertiary

education and facing financial difficulties. The best thing about this award is that u can take

up part-loan part-grant award and start to pay back half amount of the loan only after you

graduate from the tertiary institution. Besides that, the other very good thing is that the loan is

interest-free.

Kuok Foundation Berhad is one of the charity company subsidised by Kuok

organisation, by a Malaysian Tycoon Robert Kuok (known as Sugar King of Malaysia).

Every year this company helped a lot of Malaysians fulfilled their dreams of pursuing higher

education without financial problem. The above awards are nit scholarships but are financial

assistance given to needy students in the form of interest-free studyloans or part-loan, part-

grant study awards. Study loans are repayable by monthly instalments upon graduation. The

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type of award to be offered to any one student will be decided at the absolute discretion of the

Foundation.

Basically Kuok Foundation helps students from various backgrounds but concentrate

more to those facing financial difficulties. The other rule from Kuok Foundation is that the

student must be accepted into one of the local public tertiary institutions, IPTA (or other

higher institutions, IPTS as listed by KUOK Foundation) or accepted into a Singapore Public

University (National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University or

Singapore Management University).

The loan is up to RM9,000 per annum for the whole course period for students from

Engineering, Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy, Science related etc courses while students

doing Arts bachelor wil get up to RM8,000 per annum while for students in singapore, only

Medicine and Dentistry students may take the loan up to RM28,000 per annum while all

other students may take loan up to RM20,000 per annum.

4.0 References

http://www.kerryprops.com/kpl/en/ABOUT%20US.HTML

http://www.kuokgroupresidences.com/kuokgrp/thekuokgroup.ht

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http://skorcareer.com.my/blog/robert-kuok-kwok-profile-

biodata/2008/04/19/

http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsindex.php?

id=314125

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Kuok

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