Tycoon Ong Beng Seng To Step Down As Managing Director Of Singapore's Hotel Properties
Tycoon Ong Beng Seng—who is embroiled in a court case related to the corruption scandal of a former Singapore minister—is stepping down as managing director of Hotel Properties.
Ong, 79, is scheduled to plead guilty next week to charges related to the offences of former transport minister S. Iswaran, who was convicted in October of breaking the law for receiving gifts from the businessman.
Hotel Properties said early Monday that Ong 'wishes to devote more time to manage his medical conditions.' He will not be seeking re-election as board director at the upcoming shareholders' meeting on April 29, according to a regulatory filing. The company's shares rose 4.7% in midmorning trading in Singapore.
In October, prosecutors charged Ong for abetting ex-transport minister S. Iswaran over two flights, a night's stay at the Four Seasons hotel in Doha, along with Formula-1 tickets. Ong—whose company Singapore GP is the organizer of the Formula 1 night race in Singapore—is out on bail. Besides grappling with the court case, Ong is also currently battling a rare type of bone marrow cancer.
Ong and wife Christina are the controlling shareholders of Hotel Properties, which has a portfolio of 38 hotels in 17 countries, including the Four Seasons in Singapore. The couple also has interests in London-listed handbag maker Mulberry. They are among the wealthiest in the city-state with a combined net worth of $1.7 billion, according to the list of Singapore's 50 richest published by Forbes in September.
Malaysia-born Ong is among the prominent deal makers in the city-state. In November, a unit of Hotel Properties bought out the rest of Concorde Hotel in Singapore's main shopping strip. Earlier this year, another subsidiary divested their shares in shopping mall operator Paragon REIT for an undisclosed amount so that the group can focus on redeveloping three of its adjoining prime properties in the Orchard Road area, a project that analysts estimate could cost between S$1 billion ($740 million) and S$2 billion.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Bloomberg
17 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
Europe's IPO Drought Has Stock Exchanges Battling for Listings
As fewer large companies opt to go public in Europe, the region's stock exchanges are fighting harder to win the biggest listings. Stockholm, Amsterdam, Zurich and London recently went head-to-head to vie for Hellman & Friedman's initial public offering of Verisure. The Swedish exchange proved triumphant due to the €20 billion ($22.8 billion) security firm's history in the country and the strength of the local investment community, according to people familiar with the matter.
Bloomberg
2 hours ago
- Bloomberg
All the Wrong Moves for British Homeowners
When it comes to housing policy, the British government motto ought to be: We have met the enemy and it is us. The law of unintended regulatory, fiscal and monetary consequences has stopped investment in its tracks. Left to its own devices, the market functions pretty well. But right now, for everyone from the homeless to first-time buyers, it's essentially paralyzed.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
London-listed Spectris soars 20% on fresh takeover interest from Advent
-- Shares of Spectris PLC (LON:SXS) surged by over 20% in London trading following a Bloomberg News report that private equity firm Advent is considering a takeover of the UK-based precision and testing equipment maker. The potential acquisition comes as Spectris shares had previously dropped about 18% this year, valuing the company at around £2 billion ($2.8 billion). Spectris, which employs 7,600 people across more than 30 countries, specializes in developing high-tech instruments, testing equipment, and software for various industries, including life sciences, automotive, electronics, and semiconductors. Asia is a significant market for Spectris, contributing to about 36% of its revenue last year, with Europe and North America following closely. This news of potential acquisition interest comes after a failed takeover attempt by Bain Capital and Advent International in 2018, which was abandoned amid the political uncertainties brought on by Brexit. Under the leadership of CEO Andrew Heath, Spectris has been streamlining operations since 2018, focusing on its core business in the scientific and dynamics divisions. This strategic shift followed a decline in first-quarter sales due to weakened demand in key sectors such as automotive and semiconductors. Despite the challenging market conditions, Spectris has been optimistic about mitigating the impacts of tariffs and achieving strong growth in adjusted operating profit by 2025. Related articles London-listed Spectris soars 20% on fresh takeover interest from Advent AppLovin would be more valuable without its 1P games, Morgan Stanley argues Morgan Stanley downgrades Lululemon on weak US growth outlook
