HONG LEONG’S QUEK/KWEK FAMILY IS SEVENTH RICHEST IN ASIA

Net worth soars to US$23.3b, from US$18.5b last year

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 (RM97.39 billion), according to Forbes.

Last year, the Quek/Kwek family had a combined wealth of US$18.5 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, South Korea’s Lee family still saw its wealth soar by US$11.2 billion to US$40.8 billion this year. The family derives nearly half of its fortune from Samsung Electronics. Hong Kong’s Kwok family ranks No. 3 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.

Chairman Lee Kun-hee remains in 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 per cent over the past year.

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 the Lees have been in South Korea. But with the next generation establishing a presence at the Reliance Jio telecom operation, this story could play out for years.”

The Kwok 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 June 30, a 28 per cent rise over the previous 12 months.