OSK Holdings Berhad

November 01, 2021

Tan Sri Ong Leong Huat, 76, was a successful stockbroker in the 1960s. He founded OSK Holdings Berhad in 1963 and built it into a conglomerate with strategic interests in five key sectors - Property, Construction, Financial Services, Industries and Hospitality. He is currently Executive Chairman of the OSK Group. He stepped down as Group Managing Director in April 2017 in favour of his eldest son, Ong Ju Yan.

 The year 2020 marked the OSK Group’s 55 years involvement in property development. Besides developing various townships in Malaysia, the Group has also partnered with the Employees Provident Fund to jointly develop the integrated Melbourne Square (“MSQ”) mixed development in Melbourne, Australia. MSQ is the largest mixed-use integrated development in Melbourne consisting of residential, retail, office and hotel components strategically located in Southbank, Melbourne. MSQ is located within walking distance from Crown Casino, the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre and the Flinders Street Railway Station. OSK Group has also earlier partnered with Agile Group Holdings Limited (a Hong Kong-based public listed company) to jointly develop Agile Mont Kiara in Kuala Lumpur comprising 813 units of serviced apartments. They were fully sold out by July 2020. 

OSK's  property investment portfolio includes the Atria Shopping Gallery (“Atria”) in Damansara Jaya, Petaling Jaya; Plaza OSK in Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur; and Faber Towers in Taman Desa, Kuala Lumpur.  

In financial services, OSK Capital Sdn Bhd has a money lender’s licence which offers short term financing to businesses and individuals. It has also a strategic equity stake of 10.13% in RHB Bank Berhad.  

OSK’s Hotels and Resorts Division comprises hospitality assets operating under the “SwissGarden” and “Swiss-Inn” brands, and are managed by Swiss-Garden International Hotels, Resorts and Inns (“Swiss-Garden International” or “SGI”). SGI’s portfolio of six hospitality properties has a combined room inventory of over 1,900 rooms, multiple meeting facilities and an 18-hole golf course in Damai Laut, Perak.  It rebranded Swiss-Garden International’s two assets, namely, Swiss-Garden Beach Resort Damai Laut and Swiss-Inn Johor Bahru in 2020. Swiss-Garden Beach Resort Damai Laut will be known as DoubleTree by Hilton Damai Laut Resort; while Swiss-Inn Johor Bahru will be converted into a Holiday Inn Express and Suites operated by InterContinental Hotels Group (“IHG”).  

Planned Succession 

Tan Sri Ong Leong Huat’s two sons, Ong Ju Yan, 41 and Ong Ju Xing, 36, helm the top management of the OSK Holdings Group. His daughter Ong Yee Ching, 43, is a non-executive director of the company and CEO of the OSK Foundation. 

Ong Ju Yan was appointed the Managing Director of OSK Holdings in April 2017. Prior to that he was Deputy Managing Director. Ju Yan graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Yale University in 2001 and currently serves as Yale’s Alumni Schools Committee Director for Malaysia. He has over 14 years of experience in financial services, having worked in Citibank Malaysia and Morgan Stanley in New York, Hong Kong and Singapore. In 2004, he joined OSK Investment Bank Berhad (“OSKIB”) in Malaysia where he last held the position of Chief Operating Officer and Head of Investment Banking. In November 2012, he joined RHB Investment Bank Berhad as Executive Director and Head of Group Corporate and Investment Banking Services until April 2015.  

Ong Ju Xing was appointed to the Board of the Company on 9 October 2015 as an Executive Director and was re-designated as the Deputy Group Managing Director on 19 April 2017. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Management from University of London, United Kingdom and a Master of Philosophy in Land Economy from University of Cambridge, United Kingdom. Ju Xing has worked with Ernst & Young, HSBC,  Credit Suisse and Accenture.  

Substantial Shareholders 

As at 26 February 2021 Tan Sri Ong Leong Huat has a direct interest of 6.58% and an indirect interest of 46.15% in the issued shares of OSK Holdings Berhad. His wife, Puan Sri Khor Chai Moi has an indirect interest in 18.57% of the shares of the company. 

*This article is part of our on-going research into a publication titled Malaysian Family Businesses which will be published by Sparrow Publishing House in 2022.  

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 

  1. OSK Holdings Berhad. Annual Report 2020. https://www.oskgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/OSKH-AR-2020.pdf 
  2. About Us. OSK Holdings Berhad. Annual Report 2019. https://www.oskgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/OSKH-AR-2019.pdf 
  3. About us. OSK Holdings Berhad. Annual Report 2018. https://www.oskgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/OSKH-AR-2018.pdf 
  4. The Edge Markets. 20 April 2017. Anette Apapduray.  https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/osk-holdings-reshuffles-board-names-ong-ju-yan-md-0 
  5. The Star. 9 October 2015. OSK Holdings CEO’s sons appointed executive directors. https://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2015/10/09/osk-holdings-ceos-sons-appointed-executive-directors