KUALA LUMPUR - THE sudden death of Malaysian car tycoon Nasimuddin Amin yesterday has raised doubts about the future of his sprawling corporate empire.

It has also opened up an opportunity for Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi to overhaul the country's controversial car-import policies.

Tan Sri Nasimuddin, 53, died in Los Angeles, where he was undergoing treatment for cancer, which close associates said was detected last December.

'He kept it very private...He went to seek treatment in February and never returned,' a close associate of the businessman, who declined to be named, told The Straits Times.

Tan Sri Nasimuddin helmed the sprawling Naza Group of companies, an unlisted corporation which has interests in the assembly of South Korean Kia cars in Malaysia, the distribution of luxury motor vehicles, and a controlling interest in property concern TTDI.

Financial executives said that with his sudden death, it was unclear who would head his car-assembly empire, which bankers estimate is worth some RM2billion (S$860million).

Business opportunity in car import permits
EVERY car manufactured or assembled outside Malaysia must secure an Approved Permit (AP) licence before it can be imported or sold locally.

The beneficiaries of APs, who are selected by the International Trade and Industry Ministry, stand to make a huge financial windfall.
... more
Also in doubt is a clutch of potentially lucrative distribution franchises for Ferrari, Porsche and Lamborghini vehicles which Naza controls.

Senior car industry executives and lawyers told The Straits Times that the British authorities had started an investigation into allegations that the Naza Group and Tan Sri Nasimuddin were involved in the export of luxury motor vehicles using forged registration records.

It is not clear whether the investigation will now be abandoned.

Tan Sri Nasimuddin's death also poses challenges for Datuk Seri Abdullah's government.

According to car industry executives, Tan Sri Nasimuddin was the most vocal lobbyist against Datuk Seri Abdullah's push to revamp the country's car-import licensing business, which is worth more than RM1 billion.

The vacuum created by his death offers the Prime Minister an opportunity to make radical changes to Malaysia's car-import business, which has been criticised as being unfairly cushioned from foreign imports by the very restrictive nature of the licensing scheme.

But some officials are sceptical. 'The money involved is so big. There is already a clamour to step into his shoes,' a senior Finance Ministry official said without elaborating.

Tan Sri Nasimuddin's rise to the highest echelons of corporate Malaysia is a rags to riches tale.

According to friends and business associates, he did not do well in school and began his working life as a clerk in a Chinese-owned finance company specialising in the sale of second-hand vehicles.

He learned the ropes quickly, and when the Malaysian government came up with a special licensing system to handle the import of foreign-made cars in the mid-1970s, the young Nasimuddin decided to take a stab at becoming an entrepreneur.

He thrived under the system. According to car industry executives, he was the beneficiary of close to 15,000 licences annually, permits which allowed him to import any foreign make or model of car into the country.

Two years ago, he gave the public a glimpse of his enormous wealth when he hosted his daughter's wedding, which was attended by several sultans and Cabinet ministers.

The bride and bridegroom arrived at the reception in a carriage drawn by two white stallions.

The immediate challenge for Tan Sri Nasimuddin's Naza Group is succession, which the late businessman did not put in place.

'He was a very tough negotiator and a control freak,' said a chief executive of a large car-parts manufacturer who has done business with Tan Sri Nasimuddin for the past decade.

Close associates say that the tycoon kept a tight leash on finance, adding that car import licences were issued directly to him.

Bankers and lawyers close to the businessman say that Tan Sri Nasimuddin's son S.M. Faisal and brother Shalahuddin Amin will for now play a major role in the company.

But, said a senior lawyer who has done business for the group: 'The problem with the Naza Group is that it was a one-man show.''

Business opportunity in car import permits

EVERY car manufactured or assembled outside Malaysia must secure an Approved Permit (AP) licence before it can be imported or sold locally.

The beneficiaries of APs, who are selected by the International Trade and Industry Ministry, stand to make a huge financial windfall.

They can sell these import permits to auto distributors for between RM10,000 (S$4,300) and RM50,000 per vehicle depending on the make and model.

This article was first published in The Straits Times on May 3, 2008.