21. TAN SRI LIM KUANG SIA Flagship: Kossan Rubber Industries Bhd Net worth: RM2.9bil

FOR the full year ended Dec 31, 2018 (FY18), glove maker Kossan recorded its highest-ever revenue, surpassing the RM2bil-mark to RM2.14bil, an increase of 9.5% from the previous year.

The performance, the group noted, was achieved despite the increase in natural gas and nitrile prices, as well as the less-than-favourable US dollar/ringgit exchange rate.

Backed by this, Kossan founder Tan Sri Lim Kuang Sia, 67, marched up one rung to secure the position of 21st richest man in Malaysia in 2018.

In 2017, he was ranked 22nd with a net worth of RM2.66bil.

In 2016, Kuang Sia was ranked as the 25th richest person in the country with a net worth of RM2bil.

His family members – Kuang Wang, Kuang Yong, Kwan Hwa and Leng Bung – are major shareholders of the group via Kossan Holdings (M) Sdn Bhd, which has a 51.1%

stake in Kossan.

Kossan’s recent acquisition of 800 acres in Bidor, Perak, will be its new base and incorporate modern facilities. This project is anticipated to take up to eight years to finish at a cost of about RM1.5bil.

The group is one of the world’s largest glove manufacturers with its products being sold in over 160 countries.

In the disposal latex glove market, it is known to be the world’s second-largest manufacturer producing over 25 billion pairs of disposable gloves every year.

Over the medium term,the company aims to boost its manufacturing capacity by a further 18 billion gloves per year, which is a five-year compounded annual growth rate of 10% from 2019 to 2023.

It told shareholders recently that with the group’s expansion plans and new capacity coming on-stream, continued demand for its gloves, a clear focus on cost savings, product quality and innovation, as well as improvement in production technology and operating efficiency, it is confident that FY19 would be a “growth year” for the group.