Known for Business executive Spouse Pauline Chai (m. 1970) Role Executive | Name Khoo Peng Children 5 | |
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Net worth US$300 million (Forbes, March 2015)£400 million (FT, February 2014) | ||
KHOO KAY PENG - Interview with FACE OFF (PART 1)
Khoo Kay Peng (Chinese: 邱繼炳; born 1939) is a Malaysian Chinese business executive. He is the chairman and a major shareholder of Laura Ashley plc, and the owner of MUI Group.
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Early life
Khoo Kay Peng was born in 1939.
Career
Khoo was mentored by Khoo Teck Puat, who founded Malayan Banking in 1960. Khoo Kay Peng joined the new bank and soon became a manager. In 1965, he was seconded to Bank Bumiputra, and quickly rose to a senior position. In his ten years there, he built relationships with Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, Robert Kuok and Tan Koon Swan.
He left in 1976 to start his own business, developing property in Kuala Lumpur with a loan from Southern Banking, which made him a millionaire. In 1976, he bought a major stake in MUI Group, then a manufacturer of toothbrushes and household utensils, and used it as a vehicle for a series of corporate takeovers, growing MUI to a $91 million pre-tax profit in 1984.
He is the owner of MUI Group, a conglomerate which includes "retail, hotel, food and financial-services interests in Asia, Australia, the U.S. and the U.K." according to Forbes. He also owns 44% of Laura Ashley plc and serves as its chairman. He is a director of Corus Hotels.
He is the 44th richest person in Malaysia, with an estimated wealth of US$300 million according to Forbes. However, the Financial Times suggested he was worth an estimated £400 million in February 2014.
Personal life
Khoo married Pauline Chai in 1970 when Chai was 24 and he was 31, shortly after she won the Miss Malaysia beauty contest. Chai became pregnant in 1971, and they have had five children.
He is divorcing his wife of forty-five years, Pauline Chai, a former Miss Malaysia. They have five children. He resides in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. His wife resides at Rossway, an estate in Hertfordshire, England. Their ongoing divorce has led to the revelation of personal details.