Malaysian billionaire Lim Kok Thay is stepping down as CEO of Genting Bhd after nearly two decades at the helm of the casino-to-power conglomerate that he put on the global stage with properties across Asia and the U.S.
Tan Kong Han—who has been the president, chief operating officer, and executive director of Genting for 18 years—will replace Lim as the company’s CEO, while Lim will remain executive chairman of the the company’s board, Genting said in a statement on Thursday.
“On behalf of the board, I would like to congratulate Tan Kong Han on his promotion and new appointment,” Lim said in the statement. “He replaces me as CEO to lead and oversee the day-to-day operations of Genting, thus enabling me to focus on my duty as the executive chairman of the board and my other duties within the Genting Group.”
Following his promotion, Tan will relinquish his role as CEO of Genting Plantations, which has appointed Lim Keong Hui, Kok Thay’s eldest sson, as CEO of the Kuala Lumpur listed palm-oil company.
The transition is part of succession planning at one of Malaysia’s biggest conglomerates that was founded in 1965 by Kok Thay’s late father Lim Goh Tong, who realized a vision to build a mountain top casino resort in Genting Highlands, about 55 kilometers north of Kuala Lumpur. Today, the group owns and operates casino resorts in the Bahamas, Malaysia, Singapore, Las Vegas and New York. It also has interests in energy, power generation, real estate, life sciences and biotechnology.
Genting is revamping its top management at a challenging time for the group, which had just reported losses in the last three months of 2024. The company said on Thursday that full-year net profit slipped 11% to 2 billion ringgit ($448 million) as it posted a net loss of 155 million ringgit in the fourth quarter on the back of weaker contributions from its casino resorts in Singapore and the U.S.
Shares of Genting Bhd slumped 12% to 3.29 ringgit, the lowest close in four years. Maybank cut its rating on the stock to hold from buy as it lowered earnings estimates this year and next year.
The elder Lim (the biggest shareholder of Genting) currently has an estimated net worth of $1.8 billion, according to Forbes’ real-time data. A long-drawn family feud over the empire’s wealth and businesses was resolved in 2020.
In recent years, he has led the group’s expansion across Singapore and the U.S. with the opening of casino resorts in these countries. In 2022, Lim stepped down as chairman of the group’s Star Cruises operator Genting Hong Kong, which filed for a winding up petition after being hit hard by the pandemic. The group has since reestablished the business as Resorts World Cruises based in Singapore,
Genting Singapore is investing $1.7 billion to revamp its Resorts World Sentosa, which will include a new 700-room hotel and is expected to be completed by 2031. Apart from gaming, the group is also deepening its investment in the energy sector, allocating $1.3 billion in a floating liquified natural gas project in Indonesia.
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