The late Tan Sri Lee Shin Cheng’s two sons, Dato’ Lee Yeow Chor (54) and Lee Yeow Seng (42), have been elevated to higher positions since June 2019 in the respective listed companies which they helmed from the time of the demerger of the IOI Group of companies in 2013. Dato’ Lee Yeow Chor is Group Managing Director and Chief Executive of IOI Corporation Berhad (18 June 2019) while his brother Lee Yeow Seng is Vice Chairman of IOI Properties Group Berhad (15 April 2020). Tan Sri Lee Shin Cheng, founder of the IOI Group, separated the oil palm plantation business from the IOI Group’s property development business and listed IOI Properties Group Berhad on Bursa Malaysia in 2014. IOI Corporation is one of the largest and most vertically integrated oil palm plantation groups in Malaysia while IOI Properties is one of the largest property companies here. For the financial year ended 30 June 2019 IOI Corporation reported revenues of RM7.38 billion and profit before tax of RM872.6 million. For the same period IOI Properties Group reported sales of RM2.197 billion and profit before tax of RM1.08 billion.

Dato’ Lee Yeow Chor is a graduate of King’s College, London (LLB Honours), and did his Bar Finals at Gray’s Inn. He also holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Finance and Accounting, London School of Economics. Lee Yeow Seng is also a graduate of King’s College, London (LLB Honours) and a Barrister-at-law from Bar of England & Wales, Inner Temple.

Tan Sri Dato’ Lee was born in Jeram, Kuala Selangor, Malaysia in 1939. As a child, he was raised in a rubber estate where his father owned a sundry shop. At the age of only 11, he had to stop schooling and sell ice-cream full time on his own bicycle in order to help support his family. He did this for three years before he went back to school to complete his studies at Middle High School. Tan Sri Dato’ Lee started working at the age of 17, as a supervisor in a rubber estate. He diligently worked his way up to become a full-fledged estate manager before he turned 30 years old. Tan Sri Dato’ Lee’s early years experiences instilled the enterprising spirit in him which later shaped his life-long entrepreneurial journey. 

In 1975, Tan Sri Dato’ Lee started a private-limited property company named Lam Soon Huat Development Sdn Bhd (later renamed as IOI Properties Berhad in 1994) and started his first housing development project in Kajang in the following year. In 1982, he secured a controlling stake in listed Industrial Oxygen Incorporated (“IOI”) and used it as a vehicle to venture into oil palm plantation business. In 1990, he demonstrated his vision and foresight by acquiring Dunlop Estates, a business much bigger than IOI at that time. The acquisition marked the first major breakthrough in his life, and became one of the proudest moments for him. There is an added irony in that he applied for a job at Dunlop Estates 25 years earlier but was rejected due to lack of education qualifications. The RM500 million acquisition involved 13 palm oil estates (a total of 27,880 hectares), two palm oil mills, two rubber factories and one Research Centre. Read more at www.ioigroup.com 

Dato’ Lee Yeow Chor was recently elected Chairman of the Malaysian Palm Oil Association for the period 2020-2022. He was previously the Chairman of the Malaysian Palm Oil Council from February 2009 to March 2020.

Read more

1. About IOI Corporation Berhad. Board of Directors. Annual Report 2019. www.ioigroup.com
2. Tribute to Tan Sri Dato’ Lee Shin Cheng (1939-2019). Annual Report 2019. www.ioigroup.com
3. The Star Online. 14 April 2020. IOI Properties appoints New Vice Chairman, CEO. www.thestar.com.my
4. The Edge Markets. 3 July 2020. Arjuna Chandran Shankar.IOI Corp MD and CEO lee Yeow Chor made MPOA chairman for 2020-2022.  www.theedgemarkets.com