By Doreenn Leong
THE richest women of corporate Malaysia saw their combined wealth increase by RM240 mil or 2.6% to RM9.49 bil as of Feb 6, from RM9.25 bil in 2019.
Our Focus List of the 25 richest women is tabulated based on their stakes in Bursa Malaysia listed entities.
This rise in the women’s wealth is more or less in tandem with the increase in the market capitalisation of the companies they hold stakes in. The market cap of the companies was 2.76% higher at RM152.37 bil as at Feb 6 versus RM148.28 bil in the previous year.
Of the top 25, six remained at the same spot or ranking this year while eight moved up the rungs. There were four new women who made it to the top 25 list.
The same women occupied the top three spots this time with YTL Corp Bhd’s Puan Sri Tan Kai Yong taking the No. 1 position with a net worth of RM2.65 bil from an estimated stake of 26.3% in the company. Last year, her net worth was higher at RM3.1 bil with an estimated stake of 26.5%. The counter reached a 52-week high of RM1.25 on April 15, 2019 before falling to a low of 82 sen on Dec 5, 2019. The stock closed at 97 sen on Feb 19.
Puan Sri Khoo Ee Pheng, who maintained her position at second spot, saw her net worth increase to RM1.8 bil as at Feb 6, based on her estimated 8.9% stake in Press Metal Aluminium Holdings Bhd. Her net worth was about RM1.4 bil last year from her 8.64% stake.
This corresponds with Press Metal’s strong performance over the past year. The counter reached a 52-week high of RM5.24 on Jan 16, 2020 from a low of RM4.06 on Feb 19 last year. It closed at RM4.93 on Feb 19.
Maintaining her No. 3 position is Puan Sri Tan Kim Tee who holds an estimated 3.8% stake in Dialog Group Bhd. Her net worth is higher at RM742.9 mil versus RM643.5 mil last year with no change in her shareholding in the company.
The oil & gas player’s share price reached a 52-week high of RM3.57 on July 16, 2019 versus a low of RM2.95 on May 14, 2019. It closed at RM3.38 on Feb 19.
At fourth position is Puan Sri Tong Siew Bee who holds a 3.9% stake in rubber glove manufacturer Top Glove Corp Bhd. She moved up two spots from sixth place last year as her net worth rose to RM557.4 mil as at Feb 6 from RM350.6 mil last year with a 2.8% stake. The company saw a good run in its share price following the Covid-19 outbreak which recorded its first case in December last year. The counter surged to a 52-week high of RM6.10 on Jan 28 from a low of RM4.21 on Oct 15 last year.
Moving down one spot to fifth place is Puan Sri Tan Kewi Yong who owns an estimated 12% stake in Malton Bhd and a 9.3% stake in Pavilion Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT). Her combined net worth fell to RM515.7 mil from RM529 mil in 2019.
This corresponds to a drop in share prices of both companies over a 52-week period. Malton shares hit a 52-week high of 69.5 sen on April 25 last year but fell to a low of 42 sen on Feb 3, 2020. It closed at 43.5 sen on Feb 19.
As for Pavilion REIT, the counter dropped to a low of RM1.67 on Feb 7, 2020 from a 52-week high of RM1.92 on June 21, 2019. It closed at RM1.75 on Feb 19.
Notably missing on the top 25 list is MyEG Services Bhd and Excel Force MSC Bhd executive chairman Datuk Norraesah Mohamad, who took the fifth spot in 2019. She held an estimated effective stake of 10.89% in MyEG and a 6.58% stake in Excel Force which gave her a net worth of RM387.9 mil as at Feb 13, 2019. However, she ceased to be a substantial shareholder of e-government services provider, MyEG, on July 25, 2019 when she sold 810.11 million shares in the company or a 0.75% direct stake.
However, Norraesah still has indirect stakes in MyEG via Asia Internet Holdings Sdn Bhd, which has a 21.83% interest in MyEG.
Based on the latest available filings on the Companies Commission of Malaysia, Norraesah holds a 0.51% stake in Asia Internet while Wong Thean Soon has 99.49%.
The newcomers
The debutantes on our top 25 list are Puan Sri Khor Chai Moi, who holds 8.9% in OSK Holdings Bhd and 0.7% in Willowglen MSC Bhd, Chong Chin Lin and Yong Lai Wah who have a 3.1% and 2.6% stake respectively in Padini Holdings Bhd. Also new on the list is Datuk Seri Loh Cheng Yean who has a 1.2% stake in Oriental Holdings Bhd.
Out of the 25 on the list, 15 hold directorships and/or management roles in the companies. Notably, Teh Lip Kim, who holds a 25.7% stake in Selangor Dredging Bhd is the managing director while Kam Foong Keng is the executive chairman of New Hoong Fatt Holdings Bhd with a 34.4% stake.
How we ranked them
– This is based on total direct and indirect stakes (through investment vehicles and not through spouse/children) held in a listed company.
– They are ranked from the highest net worth to the lowest.
– The cut-off date for tabulating the list was Feb 6, 2020.
– We can only calculate the estimated effective stakes as we are not able to calculate the shares held through limited companies or trustees.
Top 5 richest women:
1) Puan Sri Tan Kai Yong, 88 – RM2.6 bil
Shareholder, YTL Corp Bhd
Tan is the wife of the late Tan Sri Yeoh Tiong Lay, founder and executive chairman of the YTL Group till his demise in October 2017. The media-shy matriarch of the Yeoh family is not actively involved in the group and does not have a designation, leaving the day-to-day operations to her children and grandchildren instead.
Her son, Francis Yeoh and his siblings are listed as the 11th richest Malaysians based on Forbes 2019 list. Francis is the eldest of seven and his six siblings are all involved in the family business.
Tan is rarely seen at public events, preferring to keep a low profile. Her chosen career path was education and she was a teacher up till her retirement in 1977. She is not involved in the daily running of the company.
For the first quarter ended Sept 30, 2019, YTL Corp’s net profit plunged to RM15.3 mil from RM125.8 mil a year ago despite posting a higher revenue of RM5.3 bil versus RM4.1 bil.
2) Puan Sri Khoo Ee Pheng, 49 – RM1.8 bil
Shareholder, Press Metal Aluminium Holdings Bhd
Khoo is the wife of Press Metal’s co-founder and group CEO Tan Sri Koon Poh Keong. Poh Keong, together with his brothers Poh Ming and Poh Weng are ranked as the joint ninth richest men in Malaysia according to Forbes’ 50 Richest Malaysians 2019 list. Khoo does not hold any designation in the company and is not involved in its operations.
In its latest available results for 3Q ended Sept 30, 2019, Press Metal’s net profit fell to RM121.5 mil from RM162.5 mil a year ago on the back of lower revenue of RM2.1 bil versus RM2.4 bil.
3) Puan Sri Tan Kim Tee, 69 – RM742.9.5 mil
Shareholder, Dialog Group Bhd
Tan is married to Dialog’s executive chairman Tan Sri Ngau Boon Keat who is the co-founder and controlling shareholder of Dialog. Tan is not directly involved in the company, whose board Ngau helms as executive chairman.
In the second quarter ended Dec 31, 2019, Dialog’s net profit rose to RM158 mil from RM136.8 mil a year ago while revenue increased to RM612.3 mil from RM609.6 mil.
4) Puan Sri Tong Siew Bee, 62 – RM557.4 mil
Co-founder and non-executive director, Top Glove Corp Bhd
Tong is the wife of Tan Sri Lim Wee Chai, who is the executive chairman of Top Glove Corp Bhd. Tong was previously the executive director of the company before being redesignated as non-executive director on May 8, 2019.
She holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Universiti Sains Malaysia and Master of Business Administration from Sul Ross State University, USA. She has worked in the banking industry in the information technology field for more than 10 years.
For the first quarter ended Nov 30, 2019, Top Glove registered a higher net profit of RM111.4 mil versus RM110.1 mil a year ago despite recording a lower revenue of RM1.21 bil compared with RM1.26 bil.
5) Puan Sri Tan Kewi Yong, 64 – RM515.7 mil
Executive director, Malton Bhd and Pavilion REIT
Tan is involved in the property development industry in Malaysia via Malton and Pavilion. She is the wife of low-profile tycoon Tan Sri Desmond Lim. Both are major shareholders of Malton. Tan is actively involved in the businesses and is the public face of the companies while her husband stays behind the scene.
For the first quarter ended Sept 30, 2019, Malton’s net profit fell to RM1.3 mil from RM4.7 mil a year ago while revenue dropped to RM115.9 mil from RM157.9 mil.
Meanwhile, Pavilion REIT posted a lower net profit of RM74.7 mil from RM100.3 mil a year ago on the back of decreased revenue of RM146 mil versus RM147.1 mil.
