Malaysian sugar king is top South-east Asian billionaire

MALAYSIA'S SECOND RICHEST: Telecoms magnate Ananda Krishnan is No. 119 with US$6 billion. SOUTH-EAST ASIA'S RICHEST: Malaysian sugar tycoon Robert Kuok is at No. 108 with US$7 billion. JAPAN'S RICHEST: Mr Masayoshi Son, chief of Softbank, takes No. 129 spot with US$5.8 billion.


NEW YORK - MALAYSIA'S sugar and palm oil businessman Robert Kuok is South-east Asia's top-ranked billionaire, taking the 104th spot on the Forbes billionaire list with US$7 billion (S$10.7 billion ).

Mr Kuok heads the Kuok Group, which has interests in the shipping, real estate and media industries.

He owns and manages many sugar and palm oil plantations, mills and refineries in Malaysia and Indonesia. Forbes said on its list that he will merge these assets with the Wilmar Group this year to create a major palm oil business.

Mr Kuok also controls a hotel empire in Asia-Pacific, which includes the Shangri-la chain.

Sharing the same spot with him on the billionaire list was Taiwan's Cathay Financial Holdings chairman Tsai Hong-tu and family.

Malaysia's telecoms mogul Ananda Krishnan, who owns Maxis and Astro TV, was No. 119, with US$6 billion. Rice and sugar trader Syed Mokhtar AlBukhary was the lone Malay Malaysian billionaire on the list, ranked 754th and worth US$1.3 billion.

Singapore's richest billionaire, real estate tycoon Ng Teng Fong, came in at 118th, with US$6.1 billion.

The other three Singaporeans on the list were banker Wee Cho Yaw (US$4.7 billion), real estate mogul Kwek Leng Beng and family (US$4.3 billion) and China-born property developer Zhong Shen Jian (US$1.7 billion).

Thai whisky and beer tycoon Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi took the 264th spot with US$3.4 billion. Chaleo Yoovidhya, who created energy drink Red Bull, is worth US$3.1 billion and was ranked No. 279. Agriculture businessman Dhanin Chearavanont and his family have US$2.4 billion.

Two of the Philippines' three billionaires on the list shared the 349th spot with US$2.6 billion net worth each: self-made mall entrepreneur Henry Sy and conglomerate Ayala Corp's Jaime Zobel de Ayala and family.

The third Filipino billionaire, tobacco tycoon Lucio Tan, came in at No. 407, with US$2.3 billion.

Two other tobacco tycoons from Indonesia, Rachman Halim and family (US$1.9 billion), and R. Budi Hartono and family (US$1.5 billion), took the 538th and 664th spots respectively.

Softbank chief Masayoshi Son is now in the top Japanese spot, at No. 129, with a worth of US$5.8 billion.

South Korea also did well on the list, adding seven names this year, with Samsung chairman Lee Kun Hee in the lead.

REUTERS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE