Singapore tycoon Mr. Oei Hong Leong bought one million American International Group (AIG) shares on Tuesday (16 Sep 2008) when the stock was in freefall and many investors were bailing out of the giant insurer.
Mr Oei bought in on the upswing and landed his average cost of purchasing at US$1.80. The stock price closed at US$3.75 at the end of the trading. He had looked hard at the unfolding AIG crisis and calculated that the firm was just too big and important to be allowed to fail.
He bought the shares when AIG shares price was dropping due to the rumor that AIG encountered short-term shortages of cash flows and grabbed one million shares of AIG.
Mr. Oei then sold the shares on Monday (22 Sep 2008) at US$5.00. The selling price rose more than double compared to the bidding price.
He donated the shares which have already shot up in value (about S$ 890 million) as promised to LKY School to mark Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew's 85th birthday, which fell on Tuesday. In other words, the school will receive about US$ 5 million from the shrewd investor.
Mr. Oei actually had donated S$ 1 million to LKY school 5 years ago felicitating Lee's 80th birthday.
Brief Biography
Mr. Oei Hong Leong estranged from his father, Eka Tjipta Widjaja who was one of the richest men in Indonesia. This Singapore citizen is now considered as a savvy investor with stakes in steel, coffee, real estate and health care industries. He committed to invest $10 million in waste-management firm Citiraya whose stock hasn't traded in over a year following a corporate scandal.
He was ranked number tenth in the Singapore's 40 Richest Men by Forbes Magazine. He is now 58 years old and has a net worth of about US$ 475 million.
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