China-born Forrest Li becomes Singapore’s richest person as Sea Ltd shares surge
- The China-born co-founder, chairman and CEO of Southeast Asia’s most valuable company is now worth an estimated US$19.8 billion
- Singapore’s second-richest person, paint tycoon Goh Cheng Liang, has a net worth of some US$17.7 billion
Both moves “should allow the group to grow its SeaMoney business beyond payments to include lending, insurance, wealth management and other financial services”, said Nathan Naidu, an analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence.
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SeaMoney, the company’s digital-payments and financial-services business, saw total payments using its mobile-wallet services rise to more than US$4.1 billion in the second quarter, up almost 150 per cent from a year earlier, Li said on Sea’s earnings call on August 17. Sea’s revenue rose 159 per cent to US$2.3 billion in the period.
Sea’s three founders, Li, Gang Ye, and David Chen, started the company in 2009. Ye, chief operating officer, is worth US$10.8 billion, while Chen, Shopee’s chief product officer, has a net worth of US$3.6 billion.
Sea declined to comment on the executives’ wealth valuations. In late March, the company gave a gift of S$50 million (US$37.1 million) to the National University of Singapore to advance research in artificial intelligence and machine learning.
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“After Covid, people have warmed up to digital services and online platforms,” he said. “I don’t think they will completely give up the convenience being offered.”