Interesting story here from the gossip pages of the New York Post.
The Post links Low Taek Jho, a Penang boy who studied in Wharton, to UBG Bhd, a listed firm.
Curious, I looked up the UBG Annual Report for 2008 and found that there is a 27-year-old group advisor/non-independent non-executive director by that name. “He currently serves as group advisor of several international corporations, involved in global private equity, mergers and acquisitions, buyout, government-togovernment offset structured investments and financing, networking and financial aid, amongst others.”
Must be some 27-year-old. Check out his ‘stock pick’ from 2000.
Low is a representative of Majestic Masterpiece Sdn Bhd and Abu Dhabi-Kuwait-Malaysia Investment Corporation (ADKM), a 53 per cent shareholder of UBG.
UBG, whose chairman is Mahmud Abu Bekir Taib (son of Sarawak Chief Minister Taib Mahmud), has acquired a couple of CMS companies in Sarawak.
Apart from this, UBG also has an 86 per cent stake in Putrajaya Perdana Bhd and an 80 per cent interest in Loh and Loh Corp.
Putrajaya Perdana Bhd is a property development and construction firm and UBG is obviously hoping that PPB will open doors for the group. Over the last year, PPB has opened branch offices in Abu Dhabi, Kuching and the Iskandar Malaysia region.
And why would ADKM and UBG be interested in Loh and Loh Corp?
Simple. Big money projects are in the (water) pipeline. Notice that Loh and Loh are involved in dams and water infrastructure.
Loh & Loh has vast experience in building dams and other water-related infrastructure in Malaysia over the past 30 years. The company runs its water and waste-water mechanical and electrical engineering services through Water Engineering Technology Sdn Bhd.
The Government has budgeted billions of ringgit for water and sewerage jobs under the Ninth Malaysia Plan.
Estimates put the amount of money needed for upgrading water supply services in the country between 2000 and 2050 at about RM77bil as demand for water in the country is expected to increased by some 60% during the period.
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Maxwell & Goldenscreen You seem to be one of the few who Knows Low Taek Jho’s mysterious background……. I have know him and his entourage for about 5 years now, he has been hanging out in the New York Nightlife Scene Since 2004/2005. But since this summer, He seems to have kicked his spending habits up several notches….. Two years ago at Marquee $150K (roughly 150 bottles of Cristal on a Wednesday night was a record…… (until … at Pink $217K) but now that amount seems like just an average nightly splurge at Avenue….. Not to mention the Apt Rentals,… Read more »
Maybe this will explain it for everyone (from The Straits Times – Najib’s Inner Circle):
Joe Low
Another low-profile businessman, he was a key architect of a multibillion-ringgit sovereign wealth fund established by the state of Terengganu.
The fund, called the Terengganu Investment Authority (TIA), has sparked controversy because it will be created using borrowed money and not existing capital held by the state. It will raise capital from a RM5 billion bond issue, which will be guaranteed by the Malaysian government.
Little is known of Penang-born Low, who … has close ties with several Middle East investment funds.
HA! HA! Anil, so you got word about this JOE guy too! Needless to say, most Penangites in the Chinese business community knows who this chap is: they also know his father. But they may not know this: when this Taek Jho guy came back to Penang years ago–must be during his school vacation or just after he graduated, I can’t remember–he served as the personal assistant to the beloved former CM of Penang for a brief period. Taek Jho’s dad and the former CM goes back a long way. And it was no problem at all for the dad… Read more »
Yup. Necessary connections too. (It is hard to believe) that at the age of 27 he would have gotten enough experience and trust under normal circumstances to earn him his current position. Super star investment bankers in New York would be earning .5M to 1M USD maximum after 5 years experience.. Those guys do NOT rent 100k/month apartments.. Hedge Fund and Private Equities also do not make partners out of people with less than 5 years(10 yrs more likely) experience and this guy graduated post the internet bubble which means he (probably) did not get into it either. You do… Read more »
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/malaysia/32354-najibs-inner-circle
thats him right at the end. explains a lot …..!
Actually, the New York Post is a “scandal rag” tabloid and its credibility is questionable.
So, have to read stuff from the New York Post with a pinch of salt.
Having said that, yes, the MCA and Gerakan guys are junior partners in the UMNO/BN kleptocracy.
Why are the Chinese complaining about Malaysia, the bumiputra status and the NEP-they are strong participatants in the Malaysian political process at the expense of the hard working taxpayers.If its not the MCA , its the Chineseputras or some crony who is making the money.The chinese population better take a serious stand on the issue of corruption and stop encouraging it.
In 2000, he picked Enron.
Wow … what a risk taker.
No wonder he is such a big spender of other people’s money. 🙂
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enron_scandal
he must he enjoying is high life now.whatever dude
Penang boy made good?
Sounds like Sulaiman Taib in his Bangsar days!
The kid is entitled to spend his labor picking good chips, although he’s smart enough to know he could spend it buying more for his self!
A 27-year-old Malaysian putting New Yorkers in the shade.
Well done !!!
Pity about the stock pick though!
what can we do ya….. ???
R must be admiring his pix now! Will ‘big spender’ Low Taek Jho be taking her for a cruise, perhaps to nearby Brunei?
Here’s more about the man of mystery…
http://media.www.whartonjournal.com/media/storage/paper201/news/2000/11/06/Undergraduate/Stock.Picks-36917.shtml
and
http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2009/11/meet_jho_low_nycs_club_scenes.html
of course, the readers’ comments make it all an interesting read!
This is awesome investigative journalism, Anil.
WE NEED MORE PEOPLE LIKE YOU TO UNMASK ALL THESE HIDDEN GOING ONS THAT THE RICH AND POLITICALLY INFLUENTIAL ORCHESTRATE…!
Way to go Anil!