Sino Land's founder dies in Singapore

Property tycoon Ng Teng Fong, Singapore's richest man and founder of Hong Kong-listed Sino Land, has died at the age of 82 after suffering a cerebral haemorrhage on January 23.

'He was taken to hospital where he underwent an operation,' the online edition of Singapore-based The Business Times reported, quoting a statement from Ng's Far East Organisation.

The flagship company, founded by Ng in the 1960s, is one of the biggest developers in the city state.

Ng also founded Sino Group in Hong Kong in 1970s. The private group has three Hong Kong publicly listed companies - Tsim Sha Tsui Properties Limited, Sino Hotels (Holdings) and Sino Land Company Limited, where his son, Robert Ng Chee Siong, is chairman.

With a market capitalisation of HK$63.4 billion, Sino Land is one of the largest listed developers in Hong Kong. Far East Organisation and Sino Group have a combined annual turnover of US$5.5 billion and total assets valued at more than US$40 billion, according to Far East's website.

Forbes magazine said in September last year that Ng was Singapore's richest man with a net worth of US$8 billion.

Alex Lui Yiu-wah, managing director of K Wah International's Hong Kong property arm, said Ng had established a strong foundation for Sino Group and made a major contribution to Hong Kong's property industry.