This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on November 7, 2017

KUALA LUMPUR: Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay and his son Lim Keong Hui have surfaced as major shareholders of Genting Bhd, with a 42.62% equity interest or 1.63 billion shares in the gaming giant.

Kok Thay is president and chief executive of Genting, while Keong Hui is an executive director of the gaming empire that is worth billions. 

The chunk of their indirectly held shares are held under Kien Huat Realty Sdn Bhd, with a smaller block of 152.65 million shares (about 4% of Genting’s share base) controlled by Golden Hope Ltd, and an even smaller portion of 8.9 million shares held under Inverway Sdn Bhd.

In a Bursa Malaysia filing on the change in shareholding yesterday, Genting said: “Parkview Management Sdn Bhd, as trustee of a discretionary trust, owns 100% of the voting shares of Kien Huat International Ltd, which in turn owns 100% of the voting shares of Kien Huat Realty.”

Similarly, Golden Hope is the trustee of Golden Hope Unit Trust, also linked to Kok Thay and Keong Hui.

The Genting announcement added that Kok Thay and Keong Hui are beneficiaries of the trusts, and upon review of Sections 8(2) and 8(4) of the Companies Act 2016, and based on a legal opinion, the two have reasonable grounds for believing that, effective from Nov 3, they have deemed interest in the Genting shares owned by Kien Huat Realty and Inverway.

The patriarch of the Genting group, the late Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong, passed away in 2007. He and his wife, Puan Sri Lee Kim Hwa @ Lee Ah Sang, who passed away in August this year, had six children. The oldest three are girls Lim Siew Lay, Lim Siew Lian, Lim Siew Kim, while the younger three are sons Tee Keong, Kok Thay and Chee Wah.

Via their 42.62% in Genting, Kok Thay and Keong Hui also surfaced as controlling shareholders of Genting Plantations Bhd, with a 50.67% stake in the plantation company and 49.37% in Genting Malaysia Bhd. Other assets under Genting include 52.9% in publicly traded Genting Singapore Ltd.

The announcement about Kok Thay and Keong Hui controlling Genting comes on the back of Kok Thay and his younger brother Datuk Lim Chee Wah being at loggerheads with the family of the late Datuk Lim Tee Keong.

Tee Keong, the elder brother of Kok Thay and Chee Wah, passed away a bankrupt in April 2014. Tee Keong’s children Joey Lim Keong Yew, Benjamin Lim Keong Hoe and Marie Lim Seok Leng are in disputes with Kok Thay and Chee Wah and have filed several suits against the uncles.  

One such suit was filed in June this year, where Keong Hoe is seeking to rescind or set aside a power of attorney purportedly given to Kok Thay and Chee Wah by his grandmother, the late Lee, Goh Tong’s widow.

The power of attorney purportedly conferred the two sons — Kok Thay and Chee Wah — with wide powers. The three, Kok Thay, Chee Wah and Lee are the first, second and third defendants in the case.

In Genting’s annual report for financial year 2016 (FY16), Kok Thay is stated to have 68.12 million shares or 1.83% of Genting; neither he nor Lee is slated as a substantial shareholder. 

Kien Huat Realty has 39.44% of Genting, while Parkview Management is stated as a trustee of a discretionary trust holding a 39.68% equity interest in Genting.

Checks with the Companies Commission of Malaysia (CCM) indicate that Parkview Management is the largest shareholder of Kien Huat Realty with a 94.21% equity interest. Kien Huat International Ltd has the remaining 5.79%.

Parkview Management’s shareholders are Kien Huat Realty employee Gerard Lim Ewe Keng who holds 33.34%, Lee and Kok Thay who have 16.67% each, Amaline (M) Sdn Bhd with an additional 16.67%, and company secretary Roselind Niap Kam Lian who holds 16.67%.

In other suits, Keong Yew and sister Seok Leng allege issues with their father’s will and question about being left out of a trust left by their grandfather.  

Genting ended trading yesterday at RM8.87, giving it a market capitalisation of RM29.1 billion. Genting Plantations closed at RM10.74, translating into a market capitalisation of RM8.63 billion, while Genting Malaysia closed at RM5.05, giving it a market capitalisation of RM28.62 billion.