4. TAN SRI LEE SHIN CHENG
Flagship: IOI Corp Bhd Group net worth: RM20.6bil
IOI CORP has been the stellar plantation company for the longest time, as the group has had a phenomenal record of delivering growth organically and via acquisitions. By acquiring estates from the 1990s, IOI Corp has grown in size and profit, which has made Lee one of the country’s richest men.
For the 79-year-old planter who claims to be able to talk to oil palm trees, Lee’s plantations are said to have one of the best yields in the business. Its sprawling plantation empire is also complemented by the property business through IOI Properties Group Bhd that saw his wealth increasing by 8.4% last year to RM20.6bil from RM19bil.
IOI Properties is also one of the largest property companies in the country and its strength is its overseas exposure that has helped buffer revenue and profit away from solely the Malaysian market.
It has bought properties in Xiamen, China, and also Singapore and those properties delivered big returns, as IOI Properties in the first quarter of its financial year posted a 28.1% year-on-year jump in net profit to RM242.85mil.
But the stalwart of its business is plantations, and last year, IOI announced the proposed disposal of a 70% controlling stake in IOI’s Netherlands-based palm oil refinery IOI Loders Croklaan Group BV for RM3.94bil to Bunge while retaining a 30% stake in Loders.
Loders is one of Europe’s leading global suppliers of specialty oils and fats to the processed food industry. IOI bought this business from Unilever in November 2002 for RM814mil.
The disposal of the 70% stake in the oleochemical company will help to pare down the debt of IOI Corp and give it the cash to not only make a special dividend that the market is expecting, but also channel more funds to look to increase the size of its plantation business which has been delivering stellar returns of late.
The group is looking to invest RM1bil in plantations after spending substantially in the downstream businesses over the past few years.