KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s slowing economy, now getting hit by the coronavirus outbreak, has taken a toll on its tycoons as the wealth of its 50 richest on the 2020 Forbes Malaysia Rich List fell for a second straight year.
This was due to a weaker ringgit and a nearly 10 per cent decline in the country’s benchmark stock index, according to Forbes.
Their collective net worth of US$79 billion is down seven per cent from a year ago.
Nonagenarian business legend Robert Kuok takes the top spot again with a net worth of US$11.5 billion, a position he has held for over two decades.
Kuok is among four listees whose wealth shrank by more than US$1 billion in the past year.
Retaining his spot on the list at No. 2 is Tan Sri Quek Leng Chan of Hong Leong group, who added US$300 million to his fortune of US$9.7 billion.
Ananda Krishnan of Maxis Group takes the third spot with a net worth of US$5.9 billion, down US$300 million from the year before.
The hardest-hit in dollar terms was banking tycoon Tan Sri Teh Hong Piow (No. 5, US$4.85 billion).
The founder of Public Bank Bhd saw his fortune buffeted by headwinds in Malaysia’s banking industry, slipping two spots from No. 3 last year.
Teh saw US$1.85 billion shaved off his wealth since the last list as shares in Public Bank, the country’s second-largest bank by market value, declined roughly 30 per cent.
In addition to Kuok and Teh, Lim Kok Thay (No. 7, US$3.2 billion) and Lau Cho Kun (No. 10, US$2.3 billion) also saw their wealth decline by more than US$1 billion as their fortunes fell by US$1.2 billion and US$1.1 billion respectively.
AirAsia Group founders Tan Sri Tony Fernandes (No. 41) and Datuk Kamarudin Meranun (No. 43) saw more than a third of their fortunes drop, to US$335 million and US$315 million respectively.
Forbes said aside from the coronavirus onset curtailing air travel, another blow to their fortunes came in early February after a UK court ruling implicated AirAsia and unnamed executives in an Airbus bribery case.
AirAsia had denied all allegations of wrongdoing and said it was investigating the matter.
Overall, 22 listees suffered a decline in their net worth from a year ago, but an equal number were modestly better off.
Among the latter group was casino mogul Tan Sri Dr Chen Lip Keong, who moved into the top five for the first time at No. 4.
Booming growth at Chen’s NagaWorld casino complex in Cambodia, prior to the coronavirus outbreak, helped push his net worth up six per cent to US$5.3 billion.
The share price of Chen’s NagaCorp has nearly doubled since November 2017 when the Naga2 extension opened in Phnom Penh.
Another notable gainer was Kuan Kam Hon (No. 9), who controls Hartalega Holdings Bhd, the world’s largest maker of nitrile gloves.
His net worth grew US$400 million to US$2.8 billion, from US$2.4 billion a year ago.
There are five newcomers on the list, the richest of whom are a pair of inheritors.
Debuting at No. 6 are brothers Datuk Lee Yeow Chor and Lee Yeow Seng, who share a combined US$4.8 billion legacy left by their father Tan Sri Lee Shin Cheng, the architect of the IOI palm oil and property empire, who passed away last June.
Other new listees include two tech entrepreneurs: Chu Jenn Weng (No. 47, US$280 million), founder of electronics maker ViTrox; and former Hewlett-Packard engineer Oh Kuang Eng (No. 50, US$255 million), whose Mi Technovation makes semiconductor equipment.
Five from last year’s list are missing this year, most notably Grab cofounder Anthony Tan.
“With a lofty valuation of US$14 billion, the ride-hailing decacorn has grown from its Malaysian roots to become a regional player headquartered in Singapore.
“Tan, a Singapore citizen, will therefore be a candidate for that country’s rich list,” Forbes said.
The four others who did not make the cut this year include Datuk Leong Kok Wah of property developer Eco World Development Bhd , who was affected by a glut of new property that depressed prices and market sentiment.
The minimum net worth to make the list this year is US$255 million, up from US$250 million last year.