Malaysian tycoon Robert Kuok, whose vast empire includes media, hotel and mining properties, is Southeast Asia's richest person with an estimated wealth of US$5.3 billion, Forbes magazine said today.

Malaysians and Singaporeans dominated the list. Kuok had also topped last year's inaugural Forbes roster of the region's wealthiest individuals.

The 82-year-old Kuok increased his estimated wealth by US$1.2 billion over the past year as he reaped huge returns from investments of more than US$5 billion dollars in China's booming economy, the US business publication said.

Collectively, the region's wealthiest 40 individuals were worth more than US$62 billion, up US$15 billion from last year, Forbes said.

Malaysia's Ananda Krishnan, who owns cable TV operator Astro and phone company Maxis, remained number two with a net worth of US$5.1 billion.

Third was Singaporean hotelier Kwek Leng Beng, whose wealth is valued at US$4 billion dollars.

Fourth on the list was another Singaporean, 77-year-old property tycoon Ng Teng Fong, whose wealth was estimated at US$3.2 billion. He was followed by Thailand's Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi, who made it to the top 10 list for the first time with a net worth of US$3 billion.

The 60-year-old Thai businessman, son of a street vendor, made his fortune in whisky and owns extensive properties in New York and Bangkok, Forbes said.

Casino king

Singaporean banker Lee Seng Wee was ranked the sixth wealthiest individual with a fortune of US$2.7 billion, followed by Malaysia's casino king Lim Goh Tong whose wealth is valued at US$2.6 billion.

The 87-year-old Lim's Genting Group is one of Asia's biggest casino groups, and he handed chairmanship of the company to his son Lim Kok Thay last year.

Quek Leng Chan, cousin of Singapore's Kwek, was eighth with a net worth of US$2.4 billion. The crown jewel of Quek's business empire is the Hong Leong Group Malaysia, one of Asia's biggest financial conglomerates.

Singaporean banker Wee Cho Yaw, who was ranked fourth on the list last year, slipped to joint eighth with Quek while Indonesia's R Budi Hartono, who owns clove cigarette maker Djarum, was 10th with a net worth of US$2.3 billion.