Nippon Paint deal propels Singapore tycoon Goh Cheng Liang’s wealth to US$24 billion

Goh’s Wuthelam Holdings took a majority stake in Japan’s biggest paint maker in a US$12 billion deal that was completed last month

The 93-year-old billionaire’s partnership with Nippon Paint began in the 1950s, when he became the main local distributor for the Japanese firm

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Singapore billionaire Goh Cheng Liang. Photo: Sohu

Published: 11:52am, 5 Feb 2021Updated: 11:52am, 5 Feb 2021

Almost a decade ago, the son of Singapore pigment mogul Goh Cheng Liang set his sights on gaining control of Japan’s biggest paint maker. He finally succeeded, and that is been a boon for the family’s wealth.

Their Wuthelam Holdings Pte. took a majority stake in Nippon Paint Holdings Co. in a US$12 billion deal that was completed last month, according to filings this week. That’s boosted their fortune to US$24 billion from about US$16 billion before the alliance was announced, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

For years, Wuthelam and Nippon Paint operated a business with joint ventures in countries including China, India and Malaysia. In August, Nippon Paint struck an agreement that allowed them to buy out the joint venture and take over Wuthelam’s wholly owned Indonesia business. In turn, the Gohs’ increased their stake in Nippon Paint to about 58 per cent.

“The growth will continue,” said Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Horace Chan, who estimates the alliance could lift Nippon Paint’s net income by about 64 per cent this year. “It will help the company in terms of simplifying the corporate structure, which will allow more efficient allocation of resources.”

Goh, 93, got his start in the paint business in 1949, when the British army auctioned off surplus war materials. He bought barrels of old paint and mixed colours, later selling them under his own brand name, Pigeon.

His partnership with Nippon Paint began in the 1950s, when he set up his first shop in Singapore and became the main local distributor for the Japanese company.

In 1962, they established a joint venture in the city state that they named the Nippon Paint Southeast Asia Group, or Nipsea. Goh’s son, who has led the company since the 1980s, began exploring a takeover of Nippon Paint in 2012, though the talks stalled and instead resulted in a deeper strategic alliance in 2014.