PETALING JAYA: Kuok Hui Kwong, the daughter of Malaysian billionaire Tan Sri Robert Kuok Hock-nien, will assume the chief executive position at luxury hospitality company Shangri-La Asia beginning August 1, 2025.
The 47-year-old executive has been serving in leadership roles at the hotel group since 2016, initially as executive director before becoming chairman in January 2017. This appointment was announced through regulatory filings to the Hong Kong stock exchange on Wednesday, as reported by the South China Morning Post.
Kuok, who is the sixth child among Robert Kuok’s eight children, completed her education at Harvard University. She stepped into the top leadership role following the departure of previous CEO Lim Beng Chee, who concluded his tenure at the end of 2022 but continues to serve the company as a non-executive board member.
Her compensation package includes a monthly base salary of HK$576,000 (approximately RM311,368), supplemented by performance-based bonuses and pension benefits. Additionally, Kuok maintains a significant shareholding exceeding 5% in Kerry Group, which serves as a major stakeholder in Shangri-La Asia.
The hotel group operates more than 100 properties globally across four distinct brands: Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts, Kerry Hotels, JEN, and Traders. Since its establishment with a single Singapore property in 1971, the company has expanded into a major player in the luxury hospitality sector.
Shangri-La Asia’s latest financial results showed revenue of US$2.19 billion for 2024, representing a 2% increase from the previous year. However, net profit declined by 12.3% to US$161.4 million. The company attributed the revenue growth to improved performance in Hong Kong and the Philippines, though this was partially offset by weaker results in mainland China, Singapore, and the United Kingdom.
The organisation employed approximately 25,500 staff members at the end of 2024, down 2.3% from the previous year. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Kuok emphasised the company’s commitment to workforce retention, stating in a 2023 interview that they had “the least number of people in the industry” affected by layoffs.
Before her current role, Kuok briefly served as CEO of the South China Morning Post from January to June 2022. The newspaper was acquired by Alibaba Group Holding in December 2015 from SCMP Group, which was previously under the control of the Kuok family’s Kerry Holdings.
According to Forbes magazine’s 2025 rankings, Robert Kuok maintains his position as Malaysia’s wealthiest individual with a net worth of US$11.4 billion.
