36. TEONG TECK LEAN

Flagship: GD Express Carrier Bhd Net worth: RM1.439bil RIDING on the e-commerce wave is Teong, the controlling shareholder and managing director/ group chief executive officer of GD Express. This is his debut into the Top 40 rich list.

While e-commerce is still in its infancy in Malaysia, investors are taking note of the potential growth of online purchases and the role of logistics in moving these goods to the buyers. Hence the interest in logistics firms such as GD Express, whose share price jumped 44.03% last year and was at its all-time high of 76 sen on May 2.

Described by friends and associ- ates as simple and down-to-earth, Teong, a small-town boy from Perak, took a gamble when he invested in loss-making GD Express Sdn Bhd back in 2000 when the company was close to going bust. At that time, he was a top dealer in OSK Securities Bhd, after stints at Texas Instruments and the old Lembaga Letrik Negara.

Teong, who was educated in Canada as an electrical and electronics engineer, cleaned up the company and then listed it on the then Mesdaq Market, Bursa Malaysia’s board for technology and high-growth stocks. Today, the operates a network of 211 stations and 654 trucks and vans.

But the company could have been just any other logistics com- pany except that in early 2016 Japan’s largest parcel delivery company, Yamato Holdings Co Ltd, acquired a 10% stake in GD Express for RM217mil at eye-watering valuations. That stake has since more than doubled. Yamato’s entry into the company then was described as a coup for GD Express, which will be able to take advantage of Yamato’s network and technology.

The launch of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd’s e-Fulfilment hub at KLIA Aeropolis Digital Free Trade Zone Park also saw renewed interest in logistics counters and how they will benefit from the hub, which aims to double growth in Malaysia’s air cargo volume to 1.3 million tonnes a year within 10 years.