Singapore Exchange Ltd (SGX)

Singapore Exchange is Asia’s leading and trusted market infrastructure, facilitating the exchange of capital and ideas to create value for people, businesses and economies. As a multi-asset exchange operating equity, fixed income and derivatives markets to the highest regulatory standards, SGX is a vertically integrated business that provides listing, trading, clearing, settlement, depository and data services.

With about 40% of listed companies and over 80% of listed bonds originating outside of Singapore as well as established linkages across the region and in Europe, SGX is Asia’s most international and connected exchange. Offering a full suite of derivatives products across Asian equity indices, commodities and currencies, SGX is the world’s most liquid international market for the benchmark equity indices of China, India, Japan and ASEAN.

As Asia’s pioneering central counterparty, SGX is globally recognised for its risk management and clearing capabilities, and was one of the first globally to adopt the Principles for Financial Market Infrastructure.

Headquartered in AAA-rated Singapore, SGX has over 800 employees including offices in Beijing, Chicago, Hong Kong, London, New York, Mumbai, San Francisco, Shanghai and Tokyo.

Asia’s leading multi-asset exchange

SGX Market Strategist, Equity & Fixed Income, Singapore Exchange Ltd (SGX)

Geoff Howie

SGX Market Strategist, Equity & Fixed Income





SGX lists at least 24 companies and two trusts associated with seven business empires run by some of Singapore’s richest families, and they have a combined market capitalisation of more than S$110 billion.  
	 
	
These home-grown companies and/or conglomerates on SGX belong to the Wee, Kwek, Ng, Kuok, Koh, Goi and Chua families, with many of the patriarchs being ranked among the city-state’s richest people. 
	 
	These companies and trusts are involved businesses ranging from banking and finance, real estate development, investment and management, as well as hospitality and hotel operations, to leisure, entertainment, healthcare, shipping, agriculture, food and beverage and retail.

 

SGX lists at least 24 companies and two trusts associated with seven business empires run by some of Singapore’s richest families, and they have a combined market capitalisation of more than S$110 billion. These home-grown companies and/or conglomerates on SGX belong to the Wee, Kwek, Ng, Kuok, Koh, Goi and Chua families, with many of their patriarchs being ranked among the city-state’s billionaires.

These companies and trusts on SGX are involved businesses ranging from banking and finance, real estate development, investment and management, as well as hospitality and hotel operations, to leisure, entertainment, healthcare, shipping, agriculture, food and beverage and retail.

SGX also lists another 16 companies and eight trusts associated with five foreign family empires – three Indonesian, one Thai, and one British – which have a combined market capitalisation of more than S$220 billion. The Indonesian business empires are associated with the Widjaja, Riady and Salim families, while Thai corporate ownership is represented by the Sirivadhanabhakdis, and the Jardine Group of companies is owned by the Scottish/British Keswick tai-pans. For the previously published Market Update on foreign family empires on SGX, click here.

The table below details at least seven home-grown family empires and their individual companies that are listed on SGX, with names of executives who are on their respective boards.

WEE FAMILY




			Name
			
			
			Executive
			
			
			Position on Board 
			
		


			UNITED OVERSEAS BANK 
			
			
			Wee Ee Cheong
			
			
			Deputy Chairman and CEO
			
		


			 
			
			
			Wee Ee Lim
			
			
			Non-Independent and Non-Executive Director
			
		


			UNITED OVERSEAS INSURANCE
			
			
			Wee Cho Yaw
			
			
			Chairman
			
		


			 
			
			
			Wee Ee Cheong
			
			
			Non-Independent and Non-Executive Director
			
		


			UOL GROUP 
			
			
			Wee Cho Yaw
			
			
			Chairman
			
		


			 
			
			
			Wee Ee Lim
			
			
			Deputy Chairman
			
		


			 
			
			
			Wee Ee Chao
			
			
			Non-Independent and Non-Executive Director
			
		


			UOB-KAY HIAN HOLDINGS 
			
			
			Wee Ee Chao
			
			
			Chairman and Managing Director
			
		


			UNITED INDUSTRIAL CORP 
			
			
			Wee Cho Yaw
			
			
			Chairman
			
		


			 
			
			
			Wee Ee Lim
			
			
			Non-Independent and Non-Executive Director
			
		


			HAW PAR CORP 
			
			
			Wee Cho Yaw
			
			
			Chairman
			
		


			 
			
			
			Wee Ee Chao
			
			
			Deputy Chairman
			
		


			 
			
			
			Wee Ee Lim
			
			
			President and CEO
			
		

 

KWEK FAMILY




			Name
			
			
			Executive
			
			
			Position on Board 
			
		


			HONG LEONG ASIA
			
			
			Kwek Leng Peck
			
			
			Executive Chairman
			
		


			HONG LEONG FINANCE 
			
			
			Kwek Leng Beng
			
			
			Executive Director
			
		


			 
			
			
			Kwek Leng Peck
			
			
			Non-Executive and Non-Independent Director
			
		


			 
			
			
			Kwek Leng Kee
			
			
			Non-Executive and Non-Independent Director
			
		


			GUOCOLAND LTD
			
			
			Quek Leng Chan
			
			
			Non-Executive and Non-Independent Director
			
		


			 
			
			
			Kwek Leng Hai
			
			
			Non-Executive and Non-Independent Director
			
		


			GL LTD
			
			
			Kwek Leng Hai
			
			
			Director
			
		


			CDL HOSPITALITY TRUSTS
			
			
			NIL
			
			
			NIL
			
		


			CITY DEVELOPMENTS 
			
			
			Kwek Leng Beng
			
			
			Chairman
			
		


			 
			
			
			Kwek Leng Peck
			
			
			Non-Executive and Non-Independent Director
			
		


			 
			
			
			Sherman Kwek
			
			
			Group CEO
			
		


			 
			
			
			Kwek Eik Sheng
			
			
			Group Chief Strategy Officer
			
		


			FIRST SPONSOR GROUP 
			
			
			Kingston Kwek Eik Huih
			
			
			Non-Executive and Non-Independent Director
			
		

 

NG FAMILY




			Name
			
			
			Executive
			
			
			Position on Board 
			
		


			FAR EAST HOSPITALITY TRUST
			
			
			NIL
			
			
			NIL
			
		


			FAR EAST ORCHARD 
			
			
			NIL
			
			
			NIL
			
		


			YEO HIAP SENG 
			
			
			Kenneth Fong Chun Man
			
			
			Non-Executive Director
			
		


			 
			
			
			Daryl Ng Win Kong
			
			
			Non-Independent and Non-Executive Director
			
		

 

KUOK FAMILY




			Name
			
			
			Executive
			
			
			Position on Board 
			
		


			WILMAR INTL
			
			
			Kuok Khoon Hong
			
			
			Chairman and CEO
			
		


			 
			
			
			Kuok Khoon Ean
			
			
			Non-Executive Director
			
		


			 
			
			
			Kuok Khoon Hua
			
			
			Non-Executive Director
			
		


			PERENNIAL REAL ESTATE 
			
			
			Kuok Khoon Hong
			
			
			Chairman
			
		


			PACC OFFSHORE SERVICES
			
			
			Kuok Khoon Ean
			
			
			Chairman
			
		


			SHANGRI-LA ASIA 
			
			
			Kuok Hui Kwong
			
			
			Chairman
			
		

 

KOH FAMILY




			Name
			
			
			Executive
			
			
			Position on Board 
			
		


			FRAGRANCE GROUP 
			
			
			Koh Wee Meng
			
			
			Executive Chairman and CEO
			
		


			 
			
			
			Lim Wan Looi
			
			
			Executive Director
			
		


			ASPIAL CORP
			
			
			Koh Wee Seng
			
			
			CEO
			
		


			 
			
			
			Koh Lee Hwee
			
			
			Executive Director
			
		


			 
			
			
			Ko Lee Meng
			
			
			Non-Executive and Non-Independent Director
			
		


			GLOBAL DRAGON 
			
			
			Koh Kian Soo
			
			
			Executive Chairman
			
		

 

GOI FAMILY




			Name
			
			
			Executive
			
			
			Position on Board 
			
		


			GSH CORP 
			
			
			Sam Goi Seng Hui
			
			
			Executive Chairman
			
		


			 
			
			
			Kenneth Goi Kok Ming
			
			
			COO and Executive Director
			
		


			KOP LTD
			
			
			Ben Goi Kok Neng
			
			
			Managing Director and Executive Director (recently deceased)
			
		

 

CHUA FAMILY




			Name
			
			
			Executive
			
			
			Position on Board 
			
		


			HO BEE LAND 
			
			
			Chua Thian Poh
			
			
			Chairman and CEO
			
		


			 
			
			
			Nicholas Chua Wee Chern
			
			
			Deputy CEO
			
		

Source: Company annual reports

Ng Family


Brothers Robert and Philip Ng control Singapore’s largest private property developer Far East Organization and Hong Kong-based developer Sino Group. Their late father Ng Teng Fong, who was born in China’s Fujian province and migrated to Singapore when he was six, founded the Far East and Sino group of companies.
	The brothers were jointly ranked by Forbes as the 112th richest people in the world this year, with a combined net worth of US$12 billion. In 2018, the siblings took pole position in Forbes Singapore’s 50 Richest list.
	The brothers and their mother, Tan Kim Choo, each own deemed stakes in SGX-listed Far East Hospitality Trust, Far East Orchard and Yeo Hiap Seng through various vehicles that include Far East Organization and the estate of the late Ng Teng Fong.

Wee Family


Banking and property magnate Wee Cho Yaw was ranked Singapore’s sixth richest person in 2018 by Forbes, with a total net worth of US$6.4 billion. In Forbes’ 2019 list of global billionaires, Wee takes the 267th spot.
	Wee is the largest shareholder and Chairman Emeritus of Singapore’s third-largest lender by assets, United Overseas Bank, which merged with smaller rival Overseas Union Bank in 2001.
	Apart from UOB, Wee and his sons – Ee Cheong, Ee Chao and Ee Lim – also own stakes in SGX-listed United Overseas Insurance, UOL Group, UOB-Kay Hian Holdings, United Industrial Corp, and Haw Par Corp, maker of the iconic Tiger Balm ointment.
	Their shareholdings are held in their own names as well as through a number of entities, including Wee Investments, C.Y. Wee &amp; Company, and Supreme Island Corp.
	Aside from UOB, Wee also holds chairmanships in UOI, UOL and UIC, while his sons hold both executive and non-executive directorships in these listed companies.

Kwek Family


Property and hotel mogul Kwek Leng Beng was ranked Singapore’s 4th richest man in 2018 by Forbes, with a net worth of US$7.6 billion. In Forbes’ 2019 list of global billionaires, he was number 745.
	His father, Kwek Hong Png, who migrated to Singapore from China’s Fujian province in the 1920s, founded the original Hong Leong Company – which means “good harvest”– in 1941.
	Kwek’s billionaire cousin, Quek Leng Chan, ranked by Forbes in 2019 as Malaysia’s second-richest man with a net worth of US$9.3 billion, runs the Group’s operations across the Causeway.
	Kwek is Executive Chairman of SGX-listed City Developments and Executive Director of Hong Leong Finance. His son, Sherman, is City Developments’ Group CEO, while nephew Eik Sheng is its Group Chief Strategy Officer. Another son, Kingston, is Non-Executive Director of SGX-listed First Sponsor Group, a developer of residential and commercial properties in China and The Netherlands.
	City Developments, Singapore’s second-largest developer with more than five decades of real estate development, investment and management operations, also owns 65% of London-listed Millennium &amp; Copthorne Hotels (M&amp;C).
	His cousin, Kwek Leng Peck, is Executive Chairman of SGX-listed Hong Leong Asia, the trading and industrial arm of the Hong Leong Group. Cousins Leng Kee and Leng Hai also hold executive and non-executive positions in SGX-listed Hong Leong Finance, GL Ltd (formerly known as GuocoLeisure) and GuocoLand Ltd.
	The Kwek family’s stakes in these SGX-listed firms are held through various vehicles that include Hong Leong Corporation Holdings, Hong Leong Enterprises, Hong Leong Investment Holdings, Kwek Holdings, HL Holdings, Guoco Group, GuocoLand Assets, GuoLine Overseas, GuoLine Capital Assets, and GuocoLeisure Assets, according to shareholding statistics in the companies’ recent annual reports.

Kuok Family


Kuok Khoon Hong, who co-founded the Wilmar Group in 1991 and built it into one of the world’s largest palm oil producers, was ranked by Forbes in 2018 as Singapore’s 11th richest person, with a net worth of US$2.5 billion.
	The nephew of Malaysian billionaire and “Sugar King” Robert Kuok holds the position of Chairman and CEO in Wilmar International, which listed on SGX in 2006. His cousins – siblings Khoon Ean and Khoon Hua – are also Non-Executive Directors on Wilmar’s board. In February this year, their cousin Teo La-Mei, who is Wilmar’s Group Legal Counsel and Company Secretary, was given a board seat as well.
	Khoon Hong, Khoon Ean and Hui Kwong (Robert Kuok’s daughter) also hold Chairman positions in SGX-listed Perennial Real Estate Holdings, PACC Offshore Services and secondary-listed Shangri-La Asia.
	The Kuok family hold their deemed and direct interests in these listed companies through various vehicles, including the Kerry Group of companies, Kuok Brothers Sdn Bhd and Kuok (Singapore) Ltd, shareholding data from the companies’ latest annual reports showed.

Koh Family


Hotelier and property tycoon Koh Wee Meng, together with his wife Lim Wan Looi, control SGX-listed Fragrance Group, which has residential, commercial, hotel and industrial assets spanning Singapore, Australia and Europe. The couple, who hold the positions of Executive Chairman/CEO and Executive Director respectively in Fragrance Group, also owns both direct and indirect stakes in the developer, according to shareholding data in its latest annual report.
	Ranked 27th in Forbes Singapore’s 50 Richest list last year with an estimated fortune of US$1.3 billion, Koh broke away from his family’s jewellery business in the 1990s to venture into property development.
	His younger brother, Wee Seng, is CEO of SGX-listed Aspial Corp, while sister Lee Hwee is Executive Director. Wee Seng, Lee Hwee, and another sister Lee Meng, all own direct and deemed interests in Aspial, shareholding statistics in the company’s recent annual report showed.
	Last year, Kian Soo, Wee Meng’s brother-in-law, was appointed Executive Chairman and CEO of SGX Catalist-listed property developer Global Dragon – formerly known as TMC Education Corp.
	Wee Meng and Kian Soo each own deemed stakes in Global Dragon, while Lee Meng owns a direct stake, according to shareholding data in the company’s latest annual report.

Goi Family


Sam Goi, son of a Fujian farmer, owns privately held Tee Yih Jia Food Manufacturing, the world’s largest maker of popiah (spring roll) skins. He was ranked number 14 in Forbes Singapore’s 50 Richest list last year, with an estimated fortune of US$2.1 billion.
	Known as Singapore’s “Popiah King”, Goi also owns stakes in SGX-listed property developers GSH Corp and KOP Ltd. Goi and his sons – Kenneth and Ben (recently deceased) – hold positions on the board of these two companies.

Chua Family


Chua Thian Poh, ranked by Forbes as Singapore’s 23rd richest man in 2018 with a net worth of US$1.5 billion, founded Ho Bee Land in 1987. The developer, known for luxury homes in the exclusive residential enclave of Sentosa Cove, was listed on SGX Mainboard in 1999.
	Chua has a deemed interest of 75.0% in Ho Bee Land, according to the company’s latest annual report.
	He and his son, Nicholas, hold positions on the company’s board.

The table below details the companies and trusts associated with the seven home-grown family empires that are listed on SGX, sorted by market capitalisation.




			Name
			
			
			SGX Code
			
			
			Market Cap (S$M)
			
		


			UNITED OVERSEAS BANK
			
			
			U11
			
			
			43,356
			
		


			WILMAR INTL
			
			
			F34
			
			
			22,341
			
		


			CITY DEVELOPMENTS
			
			
			C09
			
			
			8,162
			
		


			SHANGRI-LA ASIA
			
			
			S07
			
			
			6,705
			
		


			UOL GROUP
			
			
			U14
			
			
			6,164
			
		


			UNITED INDUSTRIAL CORP
			
			
			U06
			
			
			4,441
			
		


			HAW PAR CORP
			
			
			H02
			
			
			3,028
			
		


			GUOCOLAND LTD
			
			
			F17
			
			
			2,331
			
		


			CDL REIT
			
			
			J85
			
			
			1,930
			
		


			HO BEE LAND
			
			
			H13
			
			
			1,696
			
		


			FAR EAST HOSPITALITY TRUST
			
			
			Q5T
			
			
			1,246
			
		


			HONG LEONG FINANCE
			
			
			S41
			
			
			1,185
			
		


			PERENNIAL REAL ESTATE
			
			
			40S
			
			
			1,063
			
		


			GL LTD
			
			
			B16
			
			
			1,060
			
		


			UOB-KAY HIAN HOLDINGS
			
			
			U10
			
			
			975
			
		


			FIRST SPONSOR GROUP
			
			
			ADN
			
			
			970
			
		


			FRAGRANCE GROUP
			
			
			F31
			
			
			866
			
		


			FAR EAST ORCHARD
			
			
			O10
			
			
			564
			
		


			GSH CORP
			
			
			BDX
			
			
			558
			
		


			YEO HIAP SENG
			
			
			Y03
			
			
			551
			
		


			UNITED OVERSEAS INSURANCE
			
			
			U13
			
			
			434
			
		


			HONG LEONG ASIA
			
			
			H22
			
			
			419
			
		


			ASPIAL CORP
			
			
			A30
			
			
			343
			
		


			PACC OFFSHORE SERVICES
			
			
			U6C
			
			
			334
			
		


			KOP LTD
			
			
			5I1
			
			
			64
			
		


			GLOBAL DRAGON
			
			
			586
			
			
			32
			
		


			Total
			
			
			 
			
			
			110,818
			
		

Source: Bloomberg &amp; StockFacts (data as of 8 May 2019)



Highlights of Home-Grown Family Empires on SGX