14-7-2023 (SINGAPORE) Billionaire businessman Ong Beng Seng, who is known for his success in the hospitality and property industries, has been caught up in a corruption investigation that involves Transport Minister S Iswaran. Mr Ong, who is a property tycoon and hotelier, was arrested and has since posted bail of S$100,000 (US$75,700) and will surrender his passport upon returning to Singapore.
The company he founded, Hotel Properties Ltd (HPL), released a statement on Friday (Jul 14) stating that Mr Ong has been asked by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) to provide information relating to his interactions with Mr Iswaran. The nature of the investigation has not been revealed by the agency.
Ong Beng Seng, also known as OBS, was born in Sabah, Malaysia in 1946. His family moved to Singapore in 1950 when he was four years old. In the 1970s, he made his first fortune selling shipping insurance. He then joined Kuo International, an oil trading firm started by his father-in-law, Peter Fu Yun Siak, in 1975.
Mr Ong formed HPL in 1981 to lead Kuo International’s acquisition of hotels and other properties. The year after, the company was listed in Singapore. HPL owns and operates hotels under the brands of Four Seasons, COMO Hotels & Resorts, InterContinental Hotels Group, Six Senses, Marriott International, Hard Rock Hotels, Concorde, and malls such as the Forum shopping mall.
The company operates globally, with properties in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Maldives, Indonesia, Seychelles, the United Kingdom, the United States, Vanuatu, Bhutan, Tanzania, South Africa, Italy, and Sri Lanka. Mr Ong’s wife, Christina Ong, who is Singaporean, runs Como Hotels & Resorts, the retail empire Club 21, and London-listed handbag maker Mulberry. The couple was ranked 24th richest in Singapore last year, with a net worth of US$1.75 billion (S$2.3 billion), according to Forbes.
Mr Ong is the man behind Singapore GP, which brought the Formula 1 Grand Prix to Singapore in 2008, the first-ever night race in F1 history. The race has been held annually in Singapore, except for a two-year hiatus during the COVID-19 pandemic. It returned last October, with a new deal signed for Singapore to host the night race for another seven years through 2028.
Last May, HPL, in partnership with units of Singapore’s state-owned investment firm Temasek, purchased the real estate assets of Singapore Press Holdings for US$2.8 billion. Despite the pandemic, HPL is opening new hotels and resorts worldwide. This year, the company opened the Kanuhura Maldives, which includes 81 villas on Lhaviyani Atoll. HPL also plans to open a 150-room hotel in Dubrovnik, Croatia, next year.
In 1996, Mr Ong made headlines for the transactions of four condominiums by then-Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew and his son Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at Nassim Jade and Scotts 28. Unsolicited discounts of 5% to 12% were given to units bought in their name at the luxury developments along Nassim Road and Scotts Road. It was determined at the time that the property purchases were above board, and the discounts were given to early birds. The matter was aired in parliament, and both ministers were cleared of any suspicion by then-PM Goh Chok Tong. The discounted sums were donated to charity.
In 2018, Mr Ong was linked to a scheme by then-Maldives President Abdulla Yameen to lease out dozens of Maldives islands and lagoons to tourism developers without public tender. It was reported that Mr Ong offered luxury accommodation to the Maldives president and vice-president while HPL was negotiating for at least two islands.
