40 Richest in Singapore 2009

[alvin]

Here are the 40 richest men and women in Singapore 2009, data summarized from Forbes.

1) Ng Teng Fong – $8 billion/Far East Organization

2) Khoo Family – $5.5 billion/inherited Standard Chartered stake and sold for $4 billion, Goodwood Group

3) Kuok Choon Hong – $3.5 billion/Wilmar (12%)

4) Kwee brothers – $3.2 billion/Pontiac Land

5) Wee Cho Yaw – $3.1 billion/UOB and UOL

6) Zhong Sheng Jian – $2 billion/Yanlord Land

7) Peter Lim – $1.5 billion/former stockbroker turned full time investor, has stakes in Wilmar, FJ Benjamin and Brewerkz

Kwek Leng Beng – $1.2 billion/City Developments

9) Lee Seng Wee – $800 million/fomer chairman of OCBC

10) Ong Beng Seng & Christina Ong – $700 million/Hotel Properties, rights to Singapore Grand Prix, official dealer of Ferrari in Singapore, Como Hotel & Resorts, Club 21, stakes in NSL and Kuo International

11) Lien Family – $690 million/Lien Foundation

12) Tan Boy Tee – $650 million/Labroy Marine (sold to Dubai Drydocks), investment in Taisan Technology and Memstar Technology

13) Chang Yun Chung – $640 million/Pacific International Lines

14) Peter Fu Chong Cheng – $570 million/Kuo International

15) Ho Sim Guan – $470 million/ex-UOB executive

16) Chua Thian Poh – $450 million/Ho Bee Investment

17) Kwek Leng Kee – $430 million/inherited Hong Leong Group

18) Henry Ng – $420 million/Pan United

19) Vivian Chandran – $370 million/inherited Chemoil and owns Franklin Baker

20) Koh Wee Meng – $360 million/Fragrance

21) Olivia Lum – $350 million/Hyflux

22) Chew Hua Seng – $325 million/Raffles Education

23) Simon Cheong – $310 million/SC Global Developments

24) Ow Chio Kiat – $305 million/Chairman of Stamford Land and Singapore Shipping and Cougar Logistics

25) Cheng Wai Keung – $300 million/inherited Wing Tai Holdings

26) Ho Kwon Ping – $270 million/Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts

27) Tan Pong Tyea – $265 million/Heads Falcon Energy Group

28) Lee Kian Soo – $260 million/Ezra

29) Yao Hsiao Tung – $255 million/Hi-P

30) Ng Chwee Cheng – $250 million/Tat Hong

31) Loo Choon Yong – $235 million/Raffles Medical, Appointed MP

32) Kwek Leng Peck – $220 million/inherited Hong Leong Group

33) Oei Hong Leong – $200 million/Investor

34) John Chuang – $190 million/Petra Foods

35) Goh Lik Tuan – $175 million/GES International (sold to Venture Corp)

36) Sunny George Verghese – $170 million/Olam International (5%)

37) Brian Chang – $160 million/Yantai Raffles Shipyard

38) Victor Sassoon – $150 million/Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Time International (Indon watch retailer)

39) Wong Ngit Liong – $140 million/Venture Corp

40) Tay Liam Wee – $135 million/Sincere Watch

[alvin]

There are only 2 investors that made it to the list - Oei Hong Leong and Peter Lim.

Here are some articles on Peter Lim:

Former remisier king Peter Lim

He makes paper loss of $100m in stock market turmoil, but says of his wealth: 'It makes no difference after a point'
My money will go to charity
By Karen Wong

WHEN the Singapore stock market took a sharp dive lastweek, it wiped out more than $100million of his stock's value.

But former remisier king Peter Lim did not lose sleep over it.

Why? 'I've been a stock broker for all my life - I've seen all the crashes, financial crisis, where really, it's only a paper loss,' replied the self-made billionaire.

'Just make sure you are not jammed with cash flow.'

Mr Lim was referring to his almost 5 per cent investment in Wilmar International which saw its share price move from a high of $3.78 to a low of $2.89 in the space of a month. The share price last closed at $3.

To him, his wealth is less important than his family and philanthropy. His attitude towards money is almost casual. It reflects his philosophy on investing and wealth.

For those who feel they are badly mauled by the current share doldrums, Mr Lim has this piece of wisdom to share: 'I used to say to my friends, 'When you are holding stocks, if it goes up, don't be too happy; when it goes down, don't be too sad'.

'Otherwise, how? Your life will also be fluctuating and you'll die of a heart attack.

'If you really lose sleep over it, maybe the best way is to keep the money in thebank.'

So what does he lose sleep over?

He replies with a laugh: 'My kids. Like other parents, I worry about what they're doing and whether they'll pass their exams.'

On Thursday, he made his debut in Forbes' latest rankings as Singapore's seventh-richest man, with a reported net worth of US$830m illion.

Mr Lim revealed that he intends to give a large part of his money to society later. How will Singapore benefit?

Through his pet cause: Education.

He made this revelation quite casually, as if he were talking about the weather.

He said: 'I think it's very likely (that) a big part of my wealth will be directed towards education.'

'It will be either a straight donation towards assisting educational institutions or maybe I'll set up a foundation.'

He supports Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's call at the recent National Day Rally for more Singaporeans to make charitable contributions.

Mr Lim echoed PM Lee's views that it is happening all over the world, and especially in the US.

'Asia is a bit behind because generally, when you have money, you think of your sons and your daughters when you die.

'But I think it has changed a lot here, principally because now, the wealth isbigger.'

He was reluctant to reveal his charitable contributions over the years, except to say that much of it was anonymous and that in the early '90s, he was one of the earlier donors to the National Kidney Foundation.

HELPS POOR

His friend, Mr Dennis Foo, chief executive of St James Power Station, later told The New Paper that Mr Lim not only donates money, he also takes it upon himself to deliver food, like rice and cooking oil, to needy families in one-room flats and old folks' homes.

Why education?

Mr Lim said: 'Education must be cheap and accessible to anyone.

'For me, I was the son of a fishmonger, but I could still go to the best school. I had the opportunity to make money. There's no discrimination.

'I think this policy of meritocracy actually works. It's very very fair and nobody cancomplain.'

The New Paper managed to get hold of Mr Lim last Wednesday, after his meetings and before he left for a short trip overseas.

The publicity-shy tycoon was extremely reluctant to talk about his wealth. It didn't help that he again made news recently with his involvement in one of Singapore's largest reverse takeover bids, with his investment vehicle Rowsley buying up a chunk of a China solar power company.

But he agreed after some persuasion. He met us at Brewerkz, which he also has a stake in, at Riverside Point two hours before his flight.

Dressed in a polo T-shirt which has seen better days, a pair of cargo pants and trainers, he certainly didn't seem to wear his wealth on his sleeves.

Why so casual? He replied that he plans to sleep on his flight.

DOESN'T MONITOR

Ironically, Mr Lim, who was one of Singapore's leading stockbrokers and is now a private investor, does not monitor the stock market every day.

He goes through the financial reports of companies; he watches financial news to get a summary of what is happening, but he does not track the daily ups and downs of the stock he owns.

He said: 'I only check in intervals, depending on the company.

'If it's a structured company, then (I check) when the results come out. For the bigger ones, quarterly results; for smaller ones, twice a year. But if it's a start-up, I'll check it more regularly.'

Mr Lim made headlines in the late-'80s as a star remisier, in the mid-'90s in his divorce battle and in early 2000 for his involvement in the first instalment of the Raffles Town Club court saga.

Much of his wealth now comes from a single investment: Palm oil.

In the early '90s, he invested about US$10 million in a start-up Indonesian palm-oil company, Wilmar. Today, his almost-5 per cent stake is worth more than US$700 million.

This is a far cry from his humble beginnings. When he was young, he said, he did not even have his own room in the two-bedroom government flat he shared with 11 others.

He grew up, with three brothers and four sisters, in one of Singapore's oldest public housing estates, Bukit Ho Swee.

His father was a fishmonger and his mother a housewife and the size of the flat was the equivalent of a three-room HDB flat today, hesaid.

He slept in the living room, or wherever he could find space to lay his mattress down for the night.

On his wealth now, he said: 'It's no different from what it was before I had the money. It makes no difference after apoint.

'Like what they say, you can only talk louder. You can only eat so much and fly so many trips.

'Money lets you enjoy a lot of things, but I don't think I'll die without money.

'I don't think I'm eating a lot better than when I was a lot poorer than now. I don't really go for very special kinds of food. I'm still very local. I like my mee siam, mee rebus and lontong.'

When his father died in the late '60s, when Mr Lim was 22 years old.

Mr Lim completed his secondary school education in Raffles Institution and was an officer in National Service.

It was then, at the age of 18, that he bought his first lot of shares.

Did he make a killing?

'In fact, I lost money,' he laughed.

But not much.

'I was only paid $385 a month, so I can't have bought, or lost, very much.'

He then went to Perth to further his studies at the University of Western Australia.

To fund his university education, he said, he worked part-time doing odd jobs as a taxi-driver, cook and waiter.

It was one of these jobs - in the Australian fast-food chain Red Rooster - that opened his eyes to how business was done.

'I watched how they started, how they grew, and how they scaled up.'

It was also in university where he honed his instincts and skills as an investor.

He graduated with a degree in accounting and finance and stepped out into the working world.

'My first job was as an accountant. It lasted three months,' he said with a chuckle.

He did some tax consultancy before he went into stocks, he said.

Mr Lim is in his element when dealing with numbers. 'It's something I'm very comfortable with, something I understand.

'Give me any numbers. I look at (them) and I'm happy. It can be in any industry. You give me the numbers; somehow I can figure it all out.'



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His secret to investing is...

WHAT is Peter Lim's secret to successful investing?

Prospect, he replied.

He looks at sectors.

'Like if I think solar is good, I go into solar; if I think palm oil is good, then palm oil.

'Share prices go up because the sector grows. So if I think this sector is going to be good in the next 10 years, then I'll just invest in it.'

Another key reason for his success, he said, is patience.

Mr Lim, who also acts as a consultant to companies and helps them find multi-million-dollar investors, does not subscribe to buying one day and selling the next to cash in.

His advice to young investors: 'You have to invest with a longer-term mindset. You buy a good stock, leave it there for 10 years. Come 10 years, this dollar can be many, many multiples.

'I think the trick is really to think long-term.

' You may not have a lot of money, but you have a lot oftime.'

'The minimum length of my investments are five to six years, if not 10 to 12 years.'

He cites the example of his condominium.

He owns an entire 11-storey block at prestigious Ardmore Park, near Orchard Road. He and his wife, with his 85-year-old mother, live in one apartment, while three other maisonettes and the penthouse sits empty.

'I bought it in 1994 for $13m and I just hold there and wait. With the current property market, it is worth more than $100m.'

Same with Wilmar, which he invested in in the early '90s. It was then a US$10m investment. Now, his stake is worth some US$700m.

[alvin]

One more article:

Home for family of three is entire 11-storey condo
They're leaving the penthouse and 3 other maisonettes empty. Who needs to rent them out when you're billionaire Peter Lim - and he won't cash in on his $100m Ardmore Park property
By Lee Su Shyan

EVEN for the ultra rich, condo living still means having to share facilities like pools and tennis courts with neighbours. Unless you're billionaire Peter Lim, that is.
Mr Lim, his wife Cherie and his 85-year-old mother have an entire 11-storey condo - and pool - at Ardmore Park to themselves. No noisy neighbours, no barking dogs, no learner trumpeters practising in the apartment next door.

The family occupy an apartment close to 4,000 sq ft at the Abelia condo while the other three maisonettes and a 5,000 sq ft penthouse sit empty, although there is a security guard.

Not that Mr Lim needs the rent. He made his first fortune as a remisier and another bigger one with shrewd investments in palm oil.

And Abelia - Mr Lim owns 80 per cent and a pal the rest - is probably worth about $100 million given its primest of prime locations near Orchard Road.

But Mr Lim is resisting the temptation to sell up and cash in on the property boom as his mum does not want to move.

They like the location and the acres of space, including an underground carpark, which is handy given Mr Lim's pricey collection of 10 cars, Ferraris included.

'I have enough space to park them,' Mr Lim said in a recent interview.

'The road is also very wide with lots of entrances and exits. If I were to live at Orchard Turn, I would have to put up with the bad traffic. But here, there are many ways for me to avoid the congestion,' he added.

And while he could sell the Abelia and buy a handful of houses, the posh bungalow life in District 10 doesn't suit him.

'Maybe it comes from the days when I was a remisier and travelling a lot in Malaysia, every four days of the week.

'That has made me security conscious so I prefer to live in an apartment,' he said.

The bumper gain he is sitting on at the Abelia must also enhance the home sweet home feeling. He bought the building in 1994 when Malayan Credit sold some of its investment properties, paying less than $14 million.

That is looking like a bargain to end all bargains, what with the land and building now worth as much as $100 million, going by recent sale prices.

Last month, SC Global forked out $262 million for The Ardmore, just a few doors away at 6 Ardmore Park. The price for the plot of 42,565 sq ft worked out to $2,337 per sq ft (psf) of potential gross floor area, including development charges.

Abelia has an estimated 40,000 sq ft of gross floor area, which could mean a sale price of about $100 million given the $2,500 psf it could command in today's market, say some consultants.

Others sound a note of caution as the Abelia's land area is far smaller at 14,000 sq ft, although as Knight Frank's head of research and consultancy Nicholas Mak says: 'The whole stretch of Ardmore Park is valuable land, and the price it can fetch will depend on the size and the shape of the parcel.'

Whatever price it might command, it will be small beer compared to Mr Lim's stake of just under 5 per cent in palm oil giant Wilmar International, which is worth around $1 billion.

While Abelia is only 11 storeys, it dominates the area - at least for the next few months.

It is surrounded on three sides by the building site for Wheelock Properties' 36-storey Ardmore Park II. The site was occupied by Habitat Two and Ardmore View, which were sold en bloc last year.

But Mr Lim is not fretting about the noise and dust as modern piling methods have reduced much of the impact.

Anyway, he can always get away for the day in one of his flashy cars sitting in that spacious underground carpark.