9. TAN SRI KOON POH KEONG AND FAMILY Flagship: Press Metal Aluminium Holdings Bhd Net worth: RM12.17bil

KOON and his family have been a steady path in the top-10 richest people in the country, thanks to the success of Press Metal, an aluminium company that has profited greatly from its ability to secure cheap power from the dams that were built in Sarawak.

It inked a supply contract with Sarawak Energy Bhd for 25 years back in 2012 and with hydroelectric energy in abundance in Sarawak, the company benefited by having arguably the cheapest source of power available in Malaysia and on a long-term basis.

With electricity a key cost component in the aluminium business, Press Metal’s two smelting plants in Malaysia use 1,200MW of power a day. These two plants in Sarawak consume about 25% of the capacity of power in the state.

Its Samalaju plant smelts 640,000 tonnes a year and its Mukah plant 120,000 tonnes a year. It is contemplating building a fourth plant in Samalaju to expand its smelting capacity, but is facing serious competition to get more power from Sarawak Energy due to demand from other heavy industries. The company hopes that the 1,285MW Baleh Dam built by Sarawak Energy can bridge the demand gap by 2025.

Koon’s Press Metal too has extrusion plants in Guangzhou and Kapar that have a capacity of a combined 160,000 tonnes.

The availability of cheap and abundant power has allowed Koon and Press Metal to grow from a privately-owned local aluminium company in 1986 to a global integrated aluminium company today, with it being the largest aluminium producer in South-East Asia.

To ensure the stability of the product, Press Metal also bought a 50% stake in Japan Alumina Associates (Australia) Pty Ltd for A$250mil, giving it access to one of the world’s largest, longest-life and lowest-cost alumina producers.