Robert Kuok Hock Nien

Kuok Hock Nien, as known as Robert Kuok, is an Malaysian Chinese businessman who was born at 6th of October in 1923. He was the Youngest and third son of Kuok Keng Kang and Zheng Ge Ru (郑格如). Robert Kuok received English education at Johor Baru English College while he was young and later enrolled into Raffles College in 1939. After his graduation, he worked as a clerk in a Mitsubishi until 1945, after the world war II ends, he took along the skills he learned from Mitsubishi back to his family business in Johor.
His father’s business, Tong Seng & Co., was a shop in Johor Bahru which traded rice, sugar and flour. After Robert’s father pass away in 1948, Robert, His brothers Philip and Hock Seng, and his cousin Hock Chin formed Kuok Brothers Sdn. Bhd on 1st April 1949. The Company took over all the captive business of Tong Seng & Co.
With the relationship he gain while working in Mitsubishi, Robert Kuok form Malayan Sugar Manufaturing Co. Bhd. Together with two prominent Japanese partners in 1959. The company now granted a monopoly of sugar production in Malaysia with the company. Robert not only involve his business in sugar, his company Kuok Brothers Sdn.Bhd start involve in Tourism industry since 1960s. Robert Kuok was the chairman of Malayan Singapore Airlines during the time. After 1972, he became the chairman of Tourist Development Corporation Malaysia.
After Malayan Sugar Manufacturing was formed, Robert Kuok form Federal Flour Mills Bhd by the time that government encouraging local industries to tone down the the necessity to import consumer goods. Now Federal Flour Mills Bhd is the largest flour miller in the country. However it was taken over by Perlis Plantation Bhd since 1988.
During 1960s, there was no national shipping lines and the Far Eastern Freight Conference has almost control all of the shipping lines in the region, with this situation, Kuok Brothers company make a feasibility study of the national shipping line, and the idea is fully support