26 April 2010
Last Tuesday, former stockbroker Lim Eng Hock, better known as Peter Lim, bought about 5.75 million shares in F J Benjamin on the open market via a series of transactions, raising his deemed stake to 6.16% from 5.15%. He also directly holds 65 million shares, or an 11.43% stake, in the fashion purveyor.
Last year, Lim was ranked Singapore’s seventh richest man by Forbes Asia with a net worth of US$1.5 billion ($2.1 billion). Now a full-time investor, the bulk of Lim’s fortune comes from his stake in Wilmar International, the world’s largest palm-oil firm that was founded by his former client Kuok Khoon Hong. Lim, 56, also holds a stake in brewery and restaurant Brewerkz.
Last month, F J Benjamin announced that it had secured the exclusive rights to distribute DeWitt luxury watches of Switzerland for Southeast and North Asia, including Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and South Korea. The agreement takes effect on May 1.
