32. DATUK TAN CHIN NAM AND DATUK SERI ROBERT TAN CHUNG MENG & families

Flagship: Goldis Bhd and IGB Corp Bhd Net worth: RM2.105bil THE combined net worth of Datuk Tan Chin Nam and his nephew Datuk Seri Robert Tan ( pic) together with their families rose last year compared to 2016 despite it being another challenging year for property development and the retail industry.

Goldis controls IGB Corp, which in turn controls IGB REIT, the owner of The Gardens and Megamall in Mid Valley City. Their net worth is reflected in the share price performance of Goldis, which rose 22.16% last year, while IGB Corp jumped 27.17%.

A year ago, Goldis, in which Chin Nam’s daughter Lei Cheng is the chairman, made an offer for all the shares of IGB Corp it does not own at RM3 per share.

IGB Corp will soon be delisted after the takeover. Goldis will then change its name to IGB Bhd (IGB), which ironically was the original name of IGB Corp that emerged through a merger and rationalisation exercise in 2000 of IGB and Tan & Tan Developments Bhd.

The corporate exercise in 2000 saw IGB Corp taking over the property assets of Tan & Tan, which transferred its listing status to Goldis.

What will change for the Tans following the takeover of IGB Corp is that the shareholding structure will be simplified. Previously they controlled IGB Corp through Goldis’ 71.8% stake, and control over the prized assets in MidValley City was through IGB Corp’s 52.6% stake in IGB REIT.

The takeover effectively removes one layer of shareholding. The Tans will also have direct control over IGB Corp’s stable of hotel and office properties.

Besides Goldis and the soon-tobe-delisted IGB Corp, the Tans also control oil and gas (O&G) services provider Wah Seong Corp Bhd, which also has a 26.9% stake in another O&G services provider, Petra Energy Bhd. A son of Chin Nam, Boon Seng, controls Hong Kong-listed Lee Hing Development Ltd through a 36.7% stake.