Casino tycoon still flies economy (KT Lim)
(source: Straights Times October 19, 2006)
Casino tycoon still flies economy
October 19 2006
LUNCH with Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay is not a simple affair. The venue is a S$1.38 million (RM3.20 million) Ferretti 480 berthed in Sentosa waters next to his garden, the plates are from Versace, and the food is prepared by four chefs from his famous cruise liner, Star Cruises.
And why not, when the 56-year-old chairman of the Genting Group is Malaysia’s 10th richest man with a net worth of US$440 million (RM1.6 billion).
And now, the chief of one of Asia’s most successful casino resort groups wants a slice of the casino pie in Singapore.
He is the favourite among three contenders who submitted their tender bid this week. The other two are Kerzner International and Eighth Wonder.
His staff, togged out in distinctive red polo-shirts, turned up in a convoy of 11 trucks to hand over the boxes of tender documents to the Government.
Analysts say the Singapore bid is make- or-break time for him. If Genting fails to get into the action here, there will be an exodus of high-rollers from Malaysia to the integrated resorts (IRs).
Lim would have them know that yes, he wants the Sentosa prize badly but no, he is not desperate.
He said: “I can bet you that after the IR opens here, the business in the Highlands will be even better. More people enter the game, the market grows. It’s not a do-or-die thing. Desperate to me means I will do my best to get it.”
It will be easy to dismiss this as mere bravado until you take into account the US$11 billion (RM40.37 billion) market capitalisation of Genting, which is growing larger by the day.
His luxury Star Cruises fleet with its home port in Singapore is the third largest in the world with 22 ships.
The group, which has US$1.5 billion (RM5.50 billion) in cash reserves and employs 40,000 employees in 17 countries, is also a global player in the less glamorous businesses of plantations, property, manufacturing, oil and gas.
Genting has said it will spend more than S$5 billion (RM11.6 billion) on its Sentosa resort and hire 10,000 people. It promises to deliver 10 million visitors a year to Singapore by 2015.
Lim, an engineer by training, said of his resort: “It’s going to be very imaginative. and yet it’s going to be something very deliverable.
“What’s the point of having an out- of-this-world claim if you can’t deliver?”
Ever the shrewd businessman, he hinted that if Genting wins the bid, Singapore could benefit from his “re-investments”.
“We can deliver the tourist numbers, the economic benefits, the employment. We hope to also make some money at the end of the day. And we’ll ask, “What do we do with the money?”
“I’m not going to invest it half a world away. It has to be in this half, and hopefully Singapore will play a central role.”
The republic has a special place in his heart.
When he was young, holidays meant piling into a car with his family and making the six-hour drive from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore.
“It was perhaps the only time parents could spend quality time with their children. In Asian families, you study from day to night, that’s your job.”
Lim’s father is Lim Goh Tong, who left Fujian province in China for Malaysia and made his fortune in construction.
The elder Lim, who is now 88, believed in exposing his children to his businesses.
“In those days, he had mines in Batu Pahat and Muar. We would stop over. In Johor, we had plantations and so on. They were study trips.”
The second youngest of six children, the University of London graduate was always the last to hand in his homework. Not because he was slow, he was quick to add, but because the “longer time you have, the better you can do it”.
But he can move fast when the occasion calls for it. He paid S$5 million (RM11.6 million) for a 5,000 sq ft plot in Sentosa Cove and built his vacation villa in 14 months.
Asked if he bought the plot because it would be near the Sentosa integrated resort, he said half in jest: “It means an easy walk to work!”
The double-storey house with five bedrooms has a swimming pool and a marina for his yacht. A chandelier hangs in one of the toilets. Before entering the house, guests are greeted by an original Rodin sculpture. He paid over S$1 million (RM2.32 million) for the sculpture, which is about the same amount he spent on construction costs of the house.
In the same efficient vein, he said that if he wins the Sentosa bid, he will aim for a soft opening in late 2009.
“What’s the point of procrastinating?” he asked.
He brushed aside critics who describe Genting as a third-rate operator or who dismiss his partnership with Universal Studios as unoriginal.
“A lot of people can say a lot of things, but what do they know? Of course, sometimes it’s upsetting but the philosophy is to put your head down and just carry on, and hopefully the end result will vindicate oneself.”
His business roots in Singapore run deep. Star Cruises has been operating out of Singapore for 13 years and Genting International is listed on the local bourse.
To show its commitment to Singapore, the group donated money to local charities such as The Straits Times Pocket Money Fund and the Yellow Ribbon Fund last year.
While he has never considered taking up Singapore citizenship, he will not stop his three sons, aged 21, 19 and 17, from doing so. They are studying in Britain.
“I view myself as a global citizen,” he said. He also owns properties in London, Hong Kong and Sydney.
He recently bought a second plot of land in Sentosa for his eldest son. It was a 21st-birthday present that cost S$7 million (RM16.24 million).
He said with a laugh: “He bought it himself at the last auction – with my money.”
The younger ones will get their plots too, when they turn 21.
He said half-jokingly the secret to bringing up children is to “let them believe they have the freedom yet keep them on a string”.
In Kuala Lumpur, the family lives in a condominium built by his father.
As he ages, he finds himself becoming more like his father. He admits to hankering for rice when he is overseas.
His father’s weakness was congee, he said. “He would always insist on his congee. When we travelled with him overseas, the first thing he would do was to check out the Chinese restaurants.”
When he is in Singapore, he leaves his bodyguards at home and goes out in search of hawker food. His favourite? Bak kut teh.
He may have a wine collection worth more than a million dollars, and original artworks by Picasso, Botero and Monet may hang on his walls, but Lim would have you believe a tycoon is just like anyone else.
“Where it makes a difference is I can afford not to work. Yet I enjoy my work so I don’t mind working hard. Most important, I enjoy my family, being able to provide for them, maybe spoil them a bit.”
He still flies economy if it suits his schedule better.
As for the lavish lunch spread, he said it was because he had company.
“I am not a fussy eater,” he said. “The hawker centres are my favourite.” – ST
Date Posted: 18-Oct-2006
