HPL shares unfazed by founder Ong Beng Seng’s guilty plea

[SINGAPORE] Shares of Hotel Properties Ltd (HPL) tumbled in early trade on Monday (Aug 4) but pared losses as property magnate Ong Beng Seng pleaded guilty in a criminal case involving the Formula 1 night race and former transport minister S Iswaran. 

As at 9.46 am, the counter had tumbled S$0.07 or 1.3 per cent to S$5.39 from its opening price of S$5.46 amid a strong showing by the wider market. By 11:45 am, it had recovered to S$5.46, unchanged from Friday’s close, with 59,000 shares traded.

At Monday’s trial, Ong admitted to instructing Singapore GP director Mok Chee Liang to bill former transport minister S Iswaran for the business-class ticket from Doha to Singapore in May 2023, as reported by The Business Times. He was charged for obstruction of justice and pled guilty.

This is part of the Malaysian businessman’s involvement with Iswaran in a high-profile obstruction of justice case, involving the Formula 1 night race. Iswaran was handed on Oct 3, 2024, a 12-month jail sentence, after pleading guilty to four charges under Section 165 and one for obstruction of justice. He is the first former cabinet minister to receive such a sentence.

Under Section 165 prohibits public servants from accepting valuable items for free or inadequate payment from someone connected to business transactions or proceedings they handle.

Earlier in April 2025, the business tycoon stepped down as managing director of HPL to tend to existing medical conditions. It was announced that he would also not seek re-election as a director at the company’s annual general meeting on Apr 29.

Since Ong’s exit, HPL’s share price has soared over 50 per cent from S$3.60 on Apr 17.

The billionaire and his wife Christina hold about 60 per cent of HPL, the company’s latest annual report indicated. Founded in 1980, HPL’s early ventures included the Hilton Singapore hotel, which Ong bought for S$72 million. The property conglomerate has interests in hotel ownership, management and operations, property development, and investment holdings. Its market capitalisation stands at nearly S$2.9 billion to date.

HPL owns a large number of properties in Singapore along Orchard Road such as Forum The Shopping Mall, voco Orchard Singapore and HPL House, in addition to Concorde Hotel and Shopping Mall at Dhoby Ghaut.