KUALA LUMPUR: Former banker and stockbroker Datuk Tong Kooi Ong is no stranger to the Malaysian business community, having been involved in businesses as diverse as banking, media, building products and property development.

Having owned public-listed companies in Malaysia and Canada, his venture into UPP Holdings Ltd marks his first acquisition of a major stake in a Singapore-listed vehicle.

Nonetheless, it would not be his first foray into the island republic.

Tong, who started The Edge Malaysia in 1994, established The Edge Singapore eight years later. The Singapore edition celebrates its 10th anniversary this week.  

The one-time investment analyst, who is chairman of The Edge, first made his mark when he acquired Perak-based CS Securities Sdn Bhd in the early 1990s.

The stockbroking house was later renamed Phileo Peregrine Securities Sdn Bhd and formed the foundation of the PhileoAllied banking group.

In 1994, the group’s commercial bank, PhileoAllied Bank, was formed via the licence of UOB Bank Kota Kinabalu and the rescue of a failed cooperative, the Co-operative Central Bank Ltd (CCB).

PhileoAllied Bank was arguably one of Malaysia’s most innovative banks and was acquired by Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) under Bank Negara’s mandatory bank consolidation exercise in 2000.

After the divestment of his banking interests, Tong focused on the media. In 2000, he acquired a stake in Gemtech Resources Bhd, which was later renamed Nexnews Bhd and is now known as Berjaya Media Bhd.

It became the holding company for two publications — The Edge and theSun, which were injected by Tong and tycoon Tan Sri Vincent Tan respectively.

Under the management of The Edge’s executives, theSun was turned into a free newspaper and became profitable. The paper had earlier chalked up some RM200 million in accumulated losses.  

Tong later sold his stake in Nexnews Bhd to Tan and regained control of The Edge, which is now privately held.  

In 2003, Tong acquired a controlling stake in property developer Sunrise Bhd, and was its executive chairman until the company was acquired by UEM Land Holdings Bhd in late 2010.

During his tenure, Tong built up the Sunrise brand and its financial performance significantly.

Sunrise’s annual pre-tax profit rose from under RM50 million to over RM150 million annually, even exceeding RM200 million in FY08 ended June and FY09.

Tong is a director of UEM Land today. He is also chairman of the board and chairman of the executive committee of Taiga Building Products Ltd, listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, with annual sales of over C$1 billion (RM3.03 billion).

This article appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, March 7, 2012.