From Malaysia Factbook
| Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Albukhary is the richest bumiputera corporate figure and the 7th richest man in Malaysia. Some analysts have expressed concern that Syed Mokhtar's appetite for acquisitions makes it appear as though he is "buying up the whole country".
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Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Albukhary Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar al-Bukhary (born 1952, aged 60) is a Malaysian tycoon, with involvement in diversified business areas that include:
- transportation and logistics;
- plantations;
- property development;
- engineering;
- power generation; and
- defence and armory.
His growing empire, however, has come at a cost as his companies have racked up a total debt, estimated at RM25 billion. Notwithstanding, his debt levels have been described as "still manageable", due to the way they are structured. With a net worth estimated at US$2.5 billion (RM7.52 billion), according to Forbes, Syed Mokhtar is the 7th richest man in Malaysia.[1]
2. Business empire: Syed Mokhtar al-Bukhary's 3 flagship companies are:
- DRB-HICOM Berhad, primarily involved in automotive manufacturing, assembly and distribution;
- MMC Corporation Berhad, a utility, engineering, infrastructure, and logistics group;
- Tradewinds (M) Berhad, primarily involved in plantation, as well as the agro-based and property sectors.
Apart from controlling the shipping industry, Syed Mokhar Al-Bukhary's business empire includes:
In October 2010, MMC Corporation also approached the government in a bid to take over the UEM Group which is the majority shareholder of North-South Expressway concessionaire, PLUS Expressways Berhad. The bid, however, has since failed.[2] MMC Corp is the co-project delivery partner, together with Gamuda Berhad, for the new Klang Valley Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) and the consortium is widely tipped to be awarded the tunneling portion of the system's construction.
Syed Mokhtar al-Bukhary... whether a
Mahathir crony or fence, or both, the two do look close.
3. Port acquisitions: Syed Mokhar Al-Bukhary's flagship company, MMC Corporation, already controls Johor Port, and Port of Tanjung Pelepas. In a bid to take over several more Malaysian ports, Syed Mokhtar is in talks with the federal government to take over Northport, the country's premier port, and also with the Melaka state government to take over the port in Tanjung Bruas. According to the Northport website, the shipping hub in Port Klang handles some 60% of the nation's trade. Securing Northport would significantly increase Syed Mokhtar's grip on the maritime logistics sector in Malaysia. The proposed acquisition, however, may hit a snag as the listed NCB Holdings, which operates Northport, is a unit of Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB) which has a 57.1% stake in NCB Holdings. Syed Mokhtar had already won the race to take over the Ministry of Finance's Penang Port and has expressed interest in the ports in Kuantan and Kemaman.
4. Pos Malaysia Berhad: On 22 April 2011, Syed Mokhtar Albukhary expanded his business empire further when DRB-Hicom Bhd won the bid to buy Khazanah Nasional's 32.2% stake in Pos Malaysia Berhad.[2] The divestment was made via a conditional offer, with a price consideration of RM3.60 per share or RM622.79 million.[2] This POS divestment is deemed to be a landmark divestment as it is Khazanah's first divestment of its entire stake in a major GLC. more... at Chronology
External links
US$2.5 billion (2011) [1]
