28. TAN SRI VINCENT TAN Flagship: Berjaya Group Net worth: RM2.15bil

DESPITE a dip of about 12% in his net worth last year, Berjaya

Corp Bhd (BCorp) founder and executive chairman Tan Sri

Vincent Tan is unperturbed as he marches on to add value to the group.

The tycoon was ranked on the

26th spot with a net worth of RM2.43bil in 2017. Since returning to helm the diversified group in November 2017 after a five-year hiatus, the tycoon has been strategising the group’s businesses to improve their performance.

Towards this end, there has been reports of a possible assets sale and privatisation. The plan would start with the asset sale at his flagship BCorp.

The Berjaya Group boss said in December 2018 that he was considering plans to privatise 7-Eleven and his property and hotel business unit Berjaya land Bhd (BLand).

The primary reason driving him to consider the move is the consistent undervaluation of both companies by the market.

On 7-Eleven, he says, the group is currently in talks with several banks to explore its options.

On BLand, the potential delisting of the company could perhaps give a good exit opportunity for minority shareholders. Any potential plan to delist BLand from the local stock exchange would only happen after the group carves out BLand’s hotel business to be floated on the Singapore Exchange.

The group is in the midst of sealing a deal to sell its Four Seasons Hotel and Hotel Residences Kyoto for about US$700 mil (RM2.93 bil) to US$800 mil, which will translate into a divestment gain of US$400mil.

BCorp will also invest RM1.65bil in Okinawa Four Seasons Hotel and hopes to make US$600mil on the Okinawa project.

If Tan succeeds in selling the Okinawa venture as well, he will be making a neat US$1bil from both projects.