Lim Kok Thay

Yang Berbahagia Tan Sri Dato' Sri
Lim Kok Thay
PSM SSAP DIMP
林国泰
Born (1951-08-16) 16 August 1951 (age 73)
NationalityMalaysian
Alma materUniversity of London
OccupationBusinessman
TitleChairman, Genting Group and Star Cruises
SpouseCecilia Lim
Children3
Parent(s)Lim Goh Tong
Lee Kim Hua
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese林國泰
Simplified Chinese林国泰
Hanyu PinyinLín Guótài
Hokkien POJLîm Kok-Thài

Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay (simplified Chinese: 林国泰; traditional Chinese: 林國泰; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Lîm Kok-Thài; born 16 August 1951) is a Malaysian Chinese billionaire businessman. He is the chairman of Genting Group, a casinos, resorts and palm oil conglomerate with a market capitalization of almost MYR40 billion, and the second son of fellow billionaire Lim Goh Tong, the company's founder.

Career

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Lim is the chairman and board executive of Genting Malaysia Berhad & Genting Berhad, also known as Genting Group, a conglomerate active in leisure & hospitality, power generation, oil palm plantations, property development, biotechnology, and oil & gas business activities.[1][2][3][4]

He is the co-founder of Genting Hong Kong Limited, formerly known as Star Cruises Limited. Star Cruises, together with Norwegian Cruise Line was in 2011 the third largest cruise operator in the world, with a combined fleet of 18 ships providing about 35,000 lower berths.[5]

He has a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from University of London. He attended the six-week advanced management programme of Harvard Business School, the US in 1979.[1]

In 1976, he was appointed a director of Genting Group.[2] The Genting Group grew from a single listed entity in 1971 to five listed entities (comprising Genting Berhad),[6] Genting Malaysia Berhad[7] and Genting Plantations Berhad[8] which are listed on the main board of Bursa Malaysia; Genting Singapore Plc[9] which is listed on the main board of Singapore Exchange and Genting Hong Kong[10] which is listed on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

He was appointed the chairman and CEO of Genting Berhad and Genting Malaysia Berhad when the late Lim Goh Tong retired in December 2003.[11] Kok Thay has since expanded Genting's presence globally, especially in the leisure tourism and entertainment industry.

Under his guidance, the Genting Group has developed leisure brands such as "Resorts World", "Maxims", "Crockfords" and "Awana", as well as established partnerships with Universal Studios, Hard Rock Hotel, Premium Outlets, Synthetic Genomics and others.[12][13]

In 1990, he assisted the Mashantucket Pequots, a Native American tribe to establish Foxwoods Resorts Casino in Connecticut, With 340,000 square feet of floor space, it is the largest casino in the US.[14][15]

He guided the expansion works of the Group's first integrated resort, Resorts World Genting, formerly known as Genting Highlands Resort located in Genting Highlands, Pahang. It has been voted by World Travel Awards as the "World's Leading Casino Resort" in years 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 and voted "Asia's Leading Casino Resort" from 2005 to 2010.[16]

In 2005, he expanded Group's presence to the UK. Genting UK Plc is the largest casino operator in the UK with 43 casinos.[17]

In 2006, Lim led his team to win the bid to build and operate Singapore's first integrated resort on Sentosa Island, called Resorts World Sentosa.[18] The resort was progressively opened from January 2010[19] and has become a prominent tourist destination in the country.[20] The resort features Southeast Asia's first Universal Studios Singapore, six themed hotels, Maritime Experiential Museum and Aquarium[21] and many more attractions.[22]

Today, under Lim's guidance, the Genting Group has integrated resort properties in three Asian countries, namely Resorts World Genting in Malaysia, Resorts World Sentosa in Singapore and Resorts World Manila in the Philippines, attracting millions of visitors. The Group has leisure projects in the US, namely Resorts World New York City, Resorts World Las Vegas and Resorts World Miami, and resort property in Bimini, Resorts World Bimini (about 30 min east of Miami).

Lim was appointed a visiting professor at the Institute of Biomedical Engineering of Imperial College, London in October 2009.[23] He was appointed an honorary professor of Xiamen University, China in December 2007.[24]

In 2015, Lim acquired Crystal Cruises from Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha for $550 million. Following the acquisition, Lim rapidly expanded the company by building four new river vessels, purchasing an ocean-and-expedition ship and three shipyards, and adding a charter jet service.[25]

In 2017, three of Lim's nephews filed a lawsuit against him and his brother, in which they contested a family trust created by founder of Genting, Lim Goh Tong.[26] Another lawsuit was brought against Lim by his sister over the beneficial interest in a block of Genting stock.[27]

In February 2018 Lim opened Resorts World Catskills through his holding company Empire Resorts Inc.[28] The $1.2 billion complex contains a casino, entertainment venue and hotel.

In January 2022, Genting Hong Kong (Star Cruises) declared bankruptcy due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.[29]

Personal life

[edit]

Tan Sri Lim is married to Puan Sri Cecilia Lim. They have three children.[30][1][31][32] As of 16 February 2021, Forbes estimated Tan Sri Lim's net worth to be US$ 2.4 Billion making him the 1063th richest person in the world.

Recognitions

[edit]

In 2009, Lim was named "Travel Entrepreneur of the Year" by Travel Trade Gazette (TTG) Asia[33] and "The Most Influential Person in Asian Gaming" by Inside Asian Gaming, for his contributions to the leisure and travel industry.[34]

Honours

[edit]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Executive Profile: Lim Kok Thay". Bloomberg Businessweek. Archived from the original on 17 July 2012. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
  2. ^ a b "Officer Profile: Lim Kok Thay". Reuters. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
  3. ^ Raghuvanshi, Gaurav (12 December 2011). "Genting Gambles on a Family Approach to Casinos". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 27 October 2017 – via www.wsj.com.
  4. ^ "Lim Goh Tong, casino entrepreneur, dies at 90 - The New York Times". The New York Times. 23 October 2007. Retrieved 26 May 2017.
  5. ^ "Star Cruises Honored as TTG Asia Awards Travel Hall of Fame". etravelblackboard asia. Archived from the original on 22 January 2013. Retrieved 12 October 2011.
  6. ^ "List of Companies – Genting Berhad". Bursa Malaysia. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
  7. ^ "List of Companies – Genting Malaysia Berhad". Bursa Malaysia. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
  8. ^ "List of Companies – Genting Plantations Berhad". Bursa Malaysia. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
  9. ^ "Company Disclosure: Genting Singapore Plc". Singapore Exchange. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
  10. ^ "Company Info: Genting Hong Kong Limited". Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
  11. ^ "Biography of Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong". G2E Asia. Archived from the original on 6 April 2012. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
  12. ^ "Company Focus: Genting Group" (PDF). einvest. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
  13. ^ "Listed Companies: Genting Berhad Annual Report 2010". Bursa Malaysia. Archived from the original on 5 October 2011. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
  14. ^ "The world's biggest casino – The Foxwoods Casino". world-casino-resorts.com. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
  15. ^ My Story – Lim Goh Tong, chapter 13: Moving On. Pelanduk Publications Sdn Bhd. 2004.
  16. ^ "World's Leading Casino Resort 2009 – Resorts World Genting". World Travel Awards. Archived from the original on 2 November 2011. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
  17. ^ "Company Profile: Genting UK Plc". Yahoo Finance. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
  18. ^ "Genting Group wins Singapore Sentosa integrated resort project, 11 December 2006". ehotelier.com. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
  19. ^ "Singapore's first casino at Resorts World Sentosa opens its doors". channelnewsasia. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
  20. ^ "Resorts World Sentosa is Asia's ultimate destination, offering a whole new world of truly rewarding experiences". YourSingapore.com. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
  21. ^ "Resorts World Sentosa Unveils the Maritime Experiential Museum & Aquarium". eTravel Blackboard. 20 September 2011. Archived from the original on 22 January 2013. Retrieved 31 October 2011.
  22. ^ "Southeast Asia's first Universal Studios opens in Singapore". channelnewsasia. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
  23. ^ "Minutes of the Proceedings of the Thirteenth Meeting of the Council of the Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine:Visiting Professors" (PDF). Imperial College. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
  24. ^ "Star Cruises Chairman Appointed As Hon Professor of Xiamen University". Bernama news. Retrieved 24 October 2011.
  25. ^ "Billionaires are sensing the call of the seven seas". The Business Times. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  26. ^ Forbes. "Malaysia's Richest 2018: Genting Gaming Family Fighting Over The Chips". Forbes. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
  27. ^ hermes (14 January 2018). "Family feud casts cloud over Genting Group empire". The Straits Times. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
  28. ^ "Lim Kok Thay". Forbes. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
  29. ^ "How Genting billionaire Lim Kok Thay's global cruise empire imploded in Hong Kong | the Straits Times". The Straits Times. 23 January 2022.
  30. ^ sharanpal singh randhawa (1 March 2015). "50 charitable homes get RM1mil from Genting Group - Nation | The Star Online". Thestar.com.my. Retrieved 26 May 2017.
  31. ^ My Story – Lim Goh Tong, preface: Family Tree. Pelanduk Publications Sdn Bhd. 2004.
  32. ^ "Forbes Profile: Lim Kok Thay". Forbes. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
  33. ^ "Genting CEO gets award". The Star. Retrieved 10 October 2009.
  34. ^ "Lim Kok Thay named Travel Entrepreneur of the Year and The most influential person in Asian Gaming". Philstar. Retrieved 10 October 2009.
  35. ^ a b c "SEMAKAN PENERIMA DARJAH KEBESARAN, BINTANG DAN PINGAT". Prime Minister's Department (Malaysia).
  36. ^ "Sultan of Pahang's 77th birthday honours list". The Star (Malaysia). 24 October 2007. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
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