Myanmar lights up UPP prospects

MALAYSIAN entrepreneur Tong Kooi Ong is making bite-size corporate moves into Singapore by snapping up stakes in smallish firms and rendering them turnaround material.

One of them is pulp maker UPP Holdings, a firm majority-owned by Singapore billionaire and close pal Peter Lim, which he bought into two years ago. Mr Lim is now UPP's second largest shareholder, next to Mr Tong who owns 28 per cent.

Based on his track record in Malaysia, Mr Tong's moves are well worth watching - very closely. The energised businessman who also owns the media group that publishes The Edge in Singapore and Malaysia, is gifted with turning modestly sized outfits not bigger, but strikingly nimble and innovative, making them stand out against their lumbering, staid rivals.