SINGAPORE, April 14 — Prominent property magnate Ong Beng Seng will step down as managing director of Hotel Properties Limited (HPL) following the company’s annual general meeting on April 29.
In a filing with the Singapore Exchange today, HPL said Ong’s resignation is to allow him to focus on managing his medical conditions, and he will not be seeking re-election as a board director, according to a report published on Channel News Asia today.
“It is to devote more time to manage his medical conditions,” the company stated.
The 79-year-old’s health came under the spotlight amid legal proceedings involving former transport minister S Iswaran, with Ong diagnosed with bone marrow cancer earlier this year.
He was charged in October 2024 with two offences related to the case, including abetting Iswaran in receiving an all-expenses paid trip to Doha worth around S$20,850 (RM70,000) in December 2022.
The second charge alleges Ong abetted the obstruction of justice by paying S$5,700 for a business class flight ticket for Iswaran during a Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau probe in May 2023.
Court documents indicated earlier this year that Ong intended to plead guilty, following a pre-trial conference in February.
Iswaran was sentenced in October 2024 to 12 months in prison for receiving gifts exceeding S$400,000 and obstructing justice.
Ong, who is widely credited with bringing Formula One to Singapore, founded HPL in 1981 as part of Kuo International’s expansion into hotel and property investments.
According to the New Straits Times, Ong was born into a wealthy family in Sabah, Malaysia, and relocated to Singapore in 1950.
In the early 1970s, he made his first fortune through shipping insurance.
By 1975, he had joined Kuo International, an oil trading company founded by his father-in-law, Peter Fu Yun Siak.
He established HPL in 1981 to spearhead Kuo International’s expansion into hotels and property acquisitions.
The following year, the company was listed on the Singapore stock exchange.
HPL owns and manages properties under brands such as Four Seasons, COMO Hotels & Resorts, Six Senses, InterContinental, Hard Rock Hotels and Marriott, with a portfolio spanning 17 countries.
His wife, Christina Ong, oversees COMO Hotels & Resorts, luxury fashion business Club 21, and is associated with British brand Mulberry.
In 2024, Forbes ranked the couple as the 27th richest in Singapore, with an estimated net worth of US$1.7 billion.
In 2022, HPL joined Temasek-linked entities to acquire real estate assets of Singapore Press Holdings in a deal worth US$2.8 billion.
