Clifford Hii’s learning the ropes at HCK Capital

PETALING JAYA: Journalist-turned-businessman Tan Sri Clement Hii Chii Kok, the founder and managing director of SEG International Bhd (SEGi), has said that his son Clifford Hii Toh Leong's move to HCK Capital Group Sdn Bhd late last year is part of his grand plan for the latter to take on a more prominent role in his private vehicle.
Chii Kok's son Toh Leong (pix), 31, was the vice president of group corporate development & support in SEGi up until 2013. He is currently the head of business development and special projects at HCK Capital Group Sdn Bhd.
"My son Toh Leong has left SEGi late last year to join my private group of companies HCK Capital as one of its executive directors," Chii Kok told SunBiz via email recently, in response to a question on his succession plan.
"He (Toh Leong) has learnt a lot over the years, cutting his teeth in various departments at SEGi. I am confident he will one day be ready to take a more prominent role in HCK Capital," the 56-year-old former senior newsman continued.
Owned by Chii Kok, HCK Capital is a diversified group with investments in properties, technology, manufacturing and F&B.
HCK Capital's media division, dubbed HCK Media, owns a number of print media and online news portal including Focus Malaysia, The Heat, The Ant Daily and The Big Issue.
Last Friday (May 2), both Chii Kok and Toh Leong were appointed as the executive directors of Golsta Synergy, a Malacca-based manufacturer.
The appointments follow Chii Kok and Toh Leong's mandatory general offer (MGO) of RM2.10 a piece for Golsta Synergy in February via GS Capital Sdn Bhd.
Toh Leong, graduated with a Bachelor of Law degree from the Queensland University of Technology, Australia, and admitted into the Queensland Law Society as a legal practitioner in 2006. He had a short stint in a law firm in Australia before moving back to Malaysia.
Despite being a qualified lawyer however Toh Leong, like his father, seems to have used his legal background as a prelude and entry point to the business world.
In an entry in his blog, Chii Kok said Toh Leong seems to have inherited the father's entrepreneurial streak, talking about "making big money".
Chii Kok's eldest daughter Adeline is a practising accountant, while his youngest daughter Audrey graduated as a dentist.Toh Leong the only son, is the second of Chii Kok's children.
Chii Kok started in the education industry when he bought IBMS College, a tiny college in Kuching, in 1997 which had just six students.
Today, SEGi is the largest private higher education provider listed on Bursa Malaysia with a market capitalisation of some RM970 million. In between, there was a merger with Prime College and a reverse takeover of the Systematic Education Group.
SEGi, saw its net profit plunge by 45.4% to RM32.98 million in the financial year ended Dec 31, 2013 (FY13), compared to RM60.34 million a year ago. Its revenue also declined by 16.9% to RM236.9 million, down from RM284.93 million a year before.
However, Chii Kok said the poor results were merely a "road bump".
"Things are looking up now, as SEGi is rectifying the shortfalls in student numbers caused by the high graduating nursing students and late arrival of international students last year," he said , when commenting on SEGi's declining financial results in FY13.
Currently, SEGi about 18% of its total students are foreigners, with plans to ultimately increase that to 25%, said Chii Kok.
Chii Kok's purchase of nearly 50 million shares between Feb 28 and March 6, 2014, which brought his direct stake to 32.37%, close to the MGO threshold, had sparked talk of a possible attempt by him to privatise the group .
Together with his partner Navis Capital Partners Ltd, the two now control 74.1% stake in SEGi, barely a percentage point shy of the minimum public shareholding spread requirement of 25%.
Chii Kok maintained however that there are no plans to group private at the moment.
"SEGi has for years been managed by a very competent team. My continued confidence in SEGi is proven by my recent decision to actually increase my stake in the company," said Chii Kok.
Navis Capital Partners bought a substantial stake in SEGi and became Chii Kok's partner in 2012.
The first initiative that the private equity firm and Chii Kok worked together was to fine-tune the business model of SEGi to ensure future growth can be more sustainable.
"Navis has been a great partner, with their expertise and networking. They bring to SEGi clearer templates for our systems and processes and in fact helped improve our efficiency," said Chii Kok.
On SEGi's expansion plan, Chii Kok said building new campuses is not the priority at this juncture.
"We are at the moment focusing on enhancing SEGi's learning experience and academic quality. The new building at Kota Damansara is an extension to the current campus," he said.
SEGi now has five campuses, including three in Klang Valley as well as one each in Penang and Sarawak.