Singapore tycoon Ong in spotlight with F1 bid

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - As tycoons go, Ong Beng Seng has yet to build up a large fleet of fast cars.

That might be about to change if the Singapore billionaire hotelier, who drives an Aston Martin, pulls off a bid to stage Formula One (F1) motor racing in Singapore.

Ong, 60, met Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone this week and is in the final stages of negotiations to hold a leg of the best-known racing event in Singapore next year.

Ong's bid has the public support of the Singapore government, which is trying to boost its tourism industry with the launch of two multi-billion-dollar casinos.

The proposed F1 street race, like the one in Monaco but to be held at night, would benefit Ong's portfolio of hotels and boutiques along Singapore's Orchard Road shopping belt, as the event is expected to bring in thousands of tourists and F1 fans.

Shares of Ong's Singapore-listed Hotel Properties Ltd. have surged 26 percent in the last month, on speculation that he would snag the Formula One rights, particularly given Ong's government ties.

Among the officials with whom Ong has had business ties in the past is Singapore Minister of State for Trade and Industry S. Iswaran -- at a time when Iswaran was at the state agency Temasek. Iswaran told parliament last week that Formula One racing would create "attention and buzz" for Singapore.

LUXURY BRANDS

For decades, Malaysian-born Ong and his wife Christina have thrived on Asia's appetite for brand names.

Through their companies -- Hotel Properties, privately owned Como Resorts & Hotels and Club 21 -- they have assembled a portfolio of lucrative franchises and luxury properties.

The franchises range from ice-cream maker Haagen-Dazs and the Hard Rock Cafe chain to fashion label Armani, while their hotels include London's Metropolitan and Bali's Begawan Giri.

Analysts says it is difficult to estimate the Ongs' total worth. Forbes dropped them from their rich list citing a lack of information on the value of their privately owned assets.

"They are notoriously difficult to talk to. Even though they are listed, they operate pretty much like a private company," said one analyst of Ong's Hotel Properties, which has a market value of US$1.35 billion.

The firm develops luxury homes and operates hotels, including the Four Seasons in the Maldives and Bali.

Christina -- who holds distribution rights to fashion labels such as Mulberry and DKNY -- runs Club 21, which operates 200 fashion stores worldwide and Como Resorts and Hotels, which owns several luxury spas and hotels including Uma Paro in Bhutan.

The media-shy Ong pulled off a string of deals in the 1990s, buying up hotels from Montreal to Mexico, developing swanky properties in London and launching movie-themed restaurant chain Planet Hollywood with film stars Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

But the 1997 Asian financial crisis hit Ong hard, prompting him to divest many of his assets in America, Australia, Europe and Japan, and to concentrate on Southeast Asia instead.

Now, the Ongs' businesses are benefiting from rising property prices and a recovery in regional tourism.

"Over the last few months, he's been quietly expanding his portfolio of resorts in the region. He knows what he's doing even if we don't know what he's doing," said BNP Paribas analyst Kok Ken-ji, who tracks property stocks.

FROM CLUBBING TO YOGA

Ong was an insurance broker before he joined his father-in-law, the late Peter Fu, in his oil trading and hotels business in the 1970s.

Many credit Ong for turning Hotel Properties from a pure operator of hotels into a leisure group with Planet Hollywood and Hard Rock Cafe restaurant chains.

Ong, who had a reputation for clubbing and partying, also played concert promoter, bringing acts such as Michael Jackson and the Three Tenors to Southeast Asia.

"He has been innovative in bringing a touch of showbiz glamour to his businesses," said one long-time business rival.

While Ong goes to great lengths to avoid the public gaze, he hasn't always succeeded.

In 1996, when the Singapore property market was booming, Hotel Properties attracted much unwelcome publicity because it had sold luxury apartments to former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew and his son Lee Hsien Loong at a discount.

The disclosure prompted an investigation, which cleared Lee's family of any wrongdoing. Lee and his son donated sums equivalent to the discount to charity.

Associates say Ong -- who flies around the world in his private Gulfstream 4 jet -- has mellowed since the 1990s when he was often seen hanging out with the international jet-set, including Demi Moore, Robert DeNiro and Jackie Chan.

"He's a lot more subdued these days" said a close friend, adding that these days, the father of two is more likely to be found in a yoga studio than in a nightclub.

(Additional reporting by Doreen Siow)