Singapore property tycoon Ng Teng Fong dies

Singapore billionaire property tycoon and Far East Organization chairman Ng Teng Fong, 82, died on Tuesday morning.

Far East Organization said in a statement that Mr Ng suffered brain haemorrhage on January 23. He was taken to hospital where he underwent an operation.

Mr Ng was ranked Singapore’s richest man by Forbes magazine last year. His family’s net worth was estimated at US$8 billion in 2009.

He was said to have made his fortune on the property market, and owned at least a quarter of Singapore’s private housing market.

Mr Ng set up Far East Organization in 1960 and by the 1980s, he was known as the “King of Orchard Road”.

The company had its beginnings in residential developments. Watten Estate, in the prime Bukit Timah residential area where Mr Ng lived, was one of its earliest projects.

Over the years, the property giant developed over 700 malls, condominiums and hotels in Singapore and Hong Kong, including Singapore’s Fullerton Hotel.

The family also owns Hong Kong’s Sino Group and is also one of Hong Kong’s largest real estate developers.

Mr Ng was born in 1928 in Putien in China’s Fujian province, and came to Singapore when he was six.

Mr Ng was known for his frugal lifestyle, and till his death, still lived in his Watten Estate home of 30 years.

The wake will be held from Tuesday evening at Mr Ng’s mansion at No.2, Watten Estate, and a nightly service will be held at 8pm. The funeral will be held on Saturday.

Mr Ng leaves behind his wife and eight children.

In a statement, the Ng family expressed its gratitude to friends and business associates for their condolences and concern.

Source : Channel NewsAsia – 2 Feb 2010

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