KUALA LUMPUR: The Quek/Kwek family of Hong Leong Group's Tan Sri Quek Leng Chan and cousin Kwek Leng Beng is the seventh richest in Asia this year with a net worth of US$23.3 billion (about RM97.5 billion), according to Forbes.
Last year, the Quek/Kwek family had a combined wealth of US$18.5 billion (RM77.7 billion).
Quek is founder and executive chairman of Hong Leong Group in Malaysia, while Kwek is executive chairman of the group in Singapore.
India’s Ambani family tops 2017 Forbes list of Asia’s richest families for the first time with a net worth of US$44.8 billion.
The collective wealth of Asia’s 50 richest families on the list are worth a record US$699 billion, up 35 per cent from last year.
Dropping to the No. 2 spot, Korea’s Lee family still saw their wealth soar by US$11.2 billion to $40.8 billion this year. The family derives nearly half of its fortune from Samsung Electronics
Hong Kong’s Kwok family ranks No. 3 this year with a net wealth of US$40.4 billion.
Forbes said the Ambani family was this year’s biggest gainer in dollar and percentage terms.
Their net worth rose by US$19 billion as shares in Mukesh Ambani’s conglomerate Reliance Industries soared in the past year due to better refining margins and the demand produced by its telecom arm, Reliance Jio.
Since its launch in 2016, Jio has notched up close to 140 million subscribers.
Korea’s Lee family still saw their wealth soar by $11.2 billion to $40.8 billion this year. The family derives about 45 per cent of its fortune from Samsung Electronics.
Chairman Lee Kun-Hee remains in a coma in Samsung Hospital after a heart attack in 2014. His son, vice-chairman Jay Y. Lee, is currently appealing a five-year prison sentence.
Despite the family’s recent misfortunes, shares of the electronics giant are up 75% over the past year.
The core Samsung group includes 62 companies, of which 16 of them are listed on the Korea Exchange.
Tim Ferguson, Editor of Forbes Asia, said: “The cascading wealth of Asia’s very richest active tycoons is reshaping the ranks of even this legacy-driven list. Because of India’s size, the Ambanis can never be as dominant there as Samsung’s Lees have been in Korea. But with Mukesh’s next generation establishing a presence at the Reliance Jio telecom operation, this story could play out for years.”
The Kwok’s family is Asia’s richest real estate family, controlling Sun Hung Kai Properties which achieved a record US$6.7 billion in sales under contract for the year ended 30 June, a 28 per cent increase over the previous 12 months.
The group has been expanding in China, where about 60 per cent of its 120 million square feet in properties are located.
The top 10 richest families in Asia are:
1) Ambani from India; US$44.8 billion
2) Lee from South Korea; $40.8 billion
3) Kwok from Hong Kong; $40.4 billion
4) Chearavanont from Thailand; $36.6 billion
5) Hartono from Indonesia; $32 billion
6) Lee from Hong Kong; $29 billion
7) Kwek/Quek from Singapore, Malaysia; $23.3 billion
8) Cheng from Hong Kong; $22.5 billion
9) Sy from the Philippines; $20.1 billion
10) Chirathivat from Thailand; $19.3 billion