Tycoon Robert Kuok’s Daughter Named CEO of Shangri-La

Shangri-La Asia is appointing founder Robert Kuok Hock-nien’s daughter Kuok Hui Kwong chief executive of the hotel group, adding to her role as chairman, according to a filing this past week to the Hong Kong stock exchange.

Now 47, the heiress oversees total assets of $13.5 billion, including stakes in 81 of the more than 100 hotels managed under the group’s Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts, Kerry Hotels, JEN by Shangri-La and Traders Hotel brands globally.

Kuok Hui Kwong’s appointment, effective 1 August, will fill a role left vacant since Lim Beng Chee stepped down from the CEO role in 2022 at the age of 54, with the company casting the new appointment as a way to enhance the hospitality firm’s governance.

“The combination of the roles of chairman and chief executive officer under the leadership of Ms Kuok is expected to enhance the company’s strategic cohesion and operational execution by ensuring a unified and consistent vision across all levels of leadership,” Shangri-La Asia said in the statement.

Consolidating Power

The sixth of Robert Kuok’s eight children and the eldest of the Malaysian entrepreneur’s offspring with his second wife, Ho Poh Lin, Kuok Hui Kwong was named chairman of Shangri-La Asia in January 2017, taking over from her elder half-brother Kuok Khoon Chen after having served as deputy chairman for six months.

Hui Kwong also owns 95.6 million Shangri-La Asia shares, representing about 2.7 percent of the company, which is listed in both Hong Kong and Singapore.

A graduate of Harvard University, Kuok Hui Kwong also serves as a director of a number of Kuok-family ventures including Shanghai-listed China World Trade Centre Company, a property developer 40 percent owned by Shangri-La Asia, as well as Kerry Group and Kerry Holdings, both of which are major shareholders in the hospitality firm. She owns a more than 5 percent stake in Kerry Group.

Hui Kwong also previously served as managing director and chief executive of SCMP Group, which publishes the South China Morning Post, from 2009 to 2012. The Kuok Group sold the media company to Alibaba in 2016.

Headwinds in China

After rebounding into the black in 2023, Shangri-La Asia saw its net profit fall 12.3 percent in 2024 to $161.4 million as an economic slowdown in China dampened consumption and the company’s business in the United Kingdom deteriorated, according to its annual report.

Shangri-La’s mainland China hotels fell to a loss of $10.1 million in 2024, compared with a $25 million profit the previous year.