The family of the late Tan Sri Lee Loy Seng, a prominent miner and plantation owner in Ipoh, Perak, control two listed companies on Bursa Malaysia – Batu Kawan Berhad and Kuala Lumpur Kepong Berhad (KLK). The Lee family owns 47% of Batu Kawan and Batu Kawan is the single largest shareholder in KLK with a stake of 47.03%. Both are oil palm plantation companies with large landbanks. Where strategically located for property development, KLK through its subsidiary KLK Land has ventured into mixed residential and commercial development - Sierramas, a FIABCI award winning residential development which was a joint venture with Tan & Tan Developments, Desa Coalfieds, Bandar Seri Coalfields in Sungai Buloh (1000 acres), Gerbang Nusajaya and Fraser Metropolis in Kulai, Johor (2500 acres).

For the financial year ended 30 September 2019 (“FY 2019”), Batu Kawan achieved revenues of RM16.04 billion and a Group pre-tax profit of RM929.31 million. KLK’s revenues for FY 2019 were RM15.53 billion while the Group’s pre-tax profit was RM823.9 million.

The Chairman of Batu Kawan is Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Lee Oi Hian, 68, the eldest of the three sons of Tan Sri Lee Loy Seng. Tan Sri Lee also holds the position of CEO at KLK. He graduated with a Bachelor of Agricultural Science (Honours) degree from the University of Malaya and obtained his Master in Business Administration from Harvard Business School. Tan Sri Lee’s brother, Dato’ Lee Hau Hian, 66, is the Managing Director of Batu Kawan and is on the board of KLK as a non-executive director. Dato’ Lee is also a Director of Synthomer plc and See Sen Chemical Berhad. He is a member on the Board of Trustees of the Tan Sri Lee Loy Seng Foundation and Yayasan KLK. He is an economics graduate of the London School of Economics and Political Science and also holds a Master in Business Administration from Stanford University, USA.

The 3rd generation of the Lee family is now on board as an Executive Director at KLK. Lee Jia Zhang, 36, son of Tan Sri Lee Oi Hian, holds a Master in Chemical Engineering (Hons) degree (MEng) from Imperial College, United Kingdom. He is a Chartered Accountant and a Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants Scotland (ICAS). He has also completed the Accelerated Development Programme from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business (Executive Education). He began his career with Ernst & Young LLP, United Kingdom from 2006 to 2009 and thereafter with KPMG, Kuala Lumpur in 2009 both in audit. He then joined KLK Group in 2010 and has since held various positions in the Oleochemical and Corporate divisions.

Tan Sri Lee Loy Seng’s youngest son, Dato’ Lee Soon Hian, chairs the Taiko Group of companies based in Ipoh, Perak. Taiko is engaged in the manufacture and supply of bleaching earth for various edible oil refineries, the manufacture and distribution of a range of chemicals and UN approved HDPE drums, and property development.

The Founder

The late Tan Sri Lee Loy Seng came from a tin mining family in Ipoh, Perak. When mining land reserves ran low, the Lee family turned to growing rubber. During the Emergency period in the then post war Malaya, (1948 –1960) many British plantation owners sold off their rubber estates. The Lee family bought a few of them. Later in the 1969 racial riots in Malaysia, more British plantation owners cashed out. Tan Sri Lee Loy Seng purchased all the assets of one of the largest plantation companies and renamed it Kuala Lumpur Kepong Berhad.

Read more

1. Our story. KLK Land. https://klkland.com.my/our-story/
2. Batu Kawan Berhad. Annual Report 2019. Board of Directors.
3. http://www.bkawan.com.my/pdf/Annual%20Report%202019.pdf
4. Kuala Lumpur Kepong Berhad. Annual Report 2019.
5. https://www.klk.com.my/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/1-KLK-Annual-Report-2019.pdf