Malaysian tycoon Robert Kuok's daughter takes over Shangri-La Asia CEO role, earns over RM310,000 a month
The 47-year-old has served as the company's chairman since 2017 and has been an executive director since 2016.
Shangri-La Asia said her new role as both chairman and CEO is expected to improve 'strategic cohesion and operational execution by ensuring a unified and consistent vision across all levels of leadership'.
She succeeds former CEO Lim Beng Chee, who retired at the end of 2022. Lim remains on the board as a non-executive director.
According to The Straits Times, Kuok Hui Kwong is the sixth of Robert Kuok's eight children and ranked 40th on Fortune's 2024 list of the most powerful women in Asia.
Under her current contract, she receives a monthly base salary of HK$576,000 (RM311,630), along with discretionary bonuses and pension benefits.
She also holds a direct and indirect interest in 95.57 million shares, or about 2.7 per cent, of the company.
Kuok Hui Kwong graduated with a bachelor's degree in East Asian studies from Harvard University and previously served as managing director and CEO of SCMP Group, which publishes the South China Morning Post. The Kuok Group sold the media arm to Chinese tech giant Alibaba in 2016.
Founded by Robert Kuok in 1971 with the opening of the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore, Shangri-La Asia today owns 81 of the more than 100 hotels it operates under its four brands: Shangri-La, Kerry, Hotel Jen and Traders. As of its 2024 annual report, its hotel assets had a net asset value of US$10.83 billion.
For the financial year ended December 2024, the group reported revenue of US$2.19 billion, a 2 per cent increase year on year, but net profit fell 12.3 per cent to US$161.4 million, weighed down by rising operating and financing costs.
Following news of Kwok Hui Kwong's appointment, Shangri-La Asia's shares on the Singapore Exchange rose 2.4 per cent to HK$4.67 as of 3.11pm today, though they remain down nearly 14 per cent for the year.
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