January 19, 2015 – Mr Goh Cheng Liang, founder of Nippon Paint South-East Asia Group (Nipsea), is the Republic’s richest man with a US$8.2 billion (S$10.8 billion) fortune, according to a Bloomberg report published today.
Mr Goh, 87, and Osaka-based Nippon Paint Holdings jointly own Nipsea, with the billionaire recently boosting his stake in Nippon Paint to 39 per cent, making him the largest shareholder in Nipsea, Bloomberg reported. His stake in the joint venture is held through his Singapore-based investment company, Wuthelam Holdings.
Mr Goh set up his first paint shop in 1955 in Singapore, and later became a distributor for Nippon Paint. In 1962, the Japanese company established a paint manufacturing plant in the city-state in 1962, the report said.
Nipsea now operates in 15 Asian countries and is Asia’s biggest paintmaker. His son Goh Hup Jin, 61, has headed the company since the 1980s, according to Bloomberg.
Mr Goh’s wealth puts him ahead of Mr Wee Cho Yaw, the largest shareholder of Singapore’s United Overseas Bank and the city’s second richest with a US$6.9 billion fortune. Mdm Tan Kim Choo, the widow of late property tycoon Ng Teng Fong, follows with a US$4.9 billion fortune. Her sons Philip and Robert Ng have fortunes of US$4.6 billion and US$4.5 billion, respectively, the report said.