Mavis Khoo-Oei (Singapore Businesswoman)

Mavis Khoo-Oei
Born	Mavis Khoo Bee Geok 1947
Spouse(s)	Humphrey Oei (b. 1966 - 1999)

Mavis Khoo-Oei (born 1947) is the Chairman of the Goodwood Group of Hotels. She is the daughter of the late Khoo Teck Puat, a prominent banker and hotelier who was once the richest man in Singapore. Mavis Khoo-Oei was also a director at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital. In 2019, she appeared on Tatler Singapore’s ‘300 List’, a compilation of the most powerful and influential people in the country.

Background

Mavis Khoo-Oei is a trustee of the estate for her late father, thus making her the manager of his financial assets. She appeared in eighth place together with the rest of her family on Forbes' ‘Singapore’s 50 Richest 2020’ list, being worth an estimated $6.3 billion as of October 2020.

Family

Mavis Khoo Bee Geok was born in 1947 in Singapore to Rosemarie and Khoo Teck Puat, the founder of Maybank and a prominent hotelier whom Khoo Teck Puat Hospital was named after. Speaking to The New Paper in 2004, Mavis Khoo-Oei shared the following about her father:

"He never believed in throwing money away. He was never into splurging and was very practical. He believed in providing good service and a good environment, but not a lavish one."

Mavis Khoo-Oei has six biological siblings and seven half-siblings from her father’s first marriage. She is the oldest child of her father's second marriage. Her biological brother is Eric Khoo, a distinguished filmmaker credited with reviving Singapore’s film industry.

Personal life

In May 1966, Mavis Khoo married Humphrey Oei, a descendant of the Chinese-Indonesian tycoon, Oei Tiong Ham who was reportedly one of the wealthiest people in Southeast Asia in the twentieth century. Mavis Khoo-Oei's husband passed away from colon cancer in 1999.

Career

Mavis Khoo started her career at Goodwood Park Hotel (pictured).

Mavis Khoo-Oei has been the Chairman of the Goodwood Group of Hotels since 2004. She was also a director at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital until 2017.

Goodwood Group of Hotels (1965 - current)

Mavis Khoo-Oei started her career at Goodwood Park Hotel in 1965 where she first worked as a receptionist. In 1978, she was promoted to General Manager and was one of the youngest executives in the region to attain the position at 31 years old. She was also the Deputy Chairman of the hotel until 2004. During the SARS outbreak in 2003, Mavis Khoo-Oei sent food and beverages from Goodwood Park Hotel’s restaurants to healthcare workers around Singapore as a sign of solidarity. Speaking about her generous act in a 2013 article, she was quoted as saying:

“I was sad for them and felt I needed to show the hotel’s support.”

After her father’s passing in 2004, Mavis Khoo-Oei was appointed as chairman of the Goodwood Group of Hotels, which owns properties such as the heritage hotel Goodwood Park Hotel and Royal Garden Hotel in London.

Board appointments

The following is a list of board appointments Mavis Khoo-Oei has held over the years.

Year	Organisation	Role	Refs.
2004 - current	Goodwood Group of Hotels	Chairman
- 2004	Goodwood Park Hotel	Deputy Chairman
1978 - 2004		General Manager
-		Director
- 2017	Khoo Teck Puat Hospital	Director

Philanthropy

An active philanthropist, Mavis Khoo-Oei is an integral part of the Khoo Teck Puat Foundation, which has donated to several causes; particularly in the education, medical research and healthcare sectors. Speaking to The Straits Times, she said:

"My father (Khoo Teck Puat) had always set a fine example of helping those in need. I would like to continue his legacy of giving back to society."

In memory of her late husband who passed from colon cancer, Mavis Khoo-Oei donated $20 million to the National Cancer Centre in 2007.

Khoo Teck Puat Foundation

In a 2016 article written by The Straits Times, it was reported that the Khoo Teck Puat Foundation had given over $360 million to charity over the past decade. The Khoo Teck Puat Foundation funded the construction of Khoo Teck Puat Hospital (KTPH), a general care hospital located in Yishun, Singapore. The foundation has also donated $80 million towards funding medical research at the Duke-NUS Medical School. Its new campus and main facility, the Khoo Teck Puat Building, was opened in September 2009. The estate of Khoo Teck Puat was also credited with funding $50 million towards the Khoo Teck Puat-National University Children’s Medical Institute (KTP-NUCMI), a medical cluster for the National University of Singapore’s dedicated to paediatric research.

Mavis Khoo Nursing Leaders Scholarship

Mavis Khoo-Oei (centre) at the scholarship launch in 2018. Photo from Facebook.

In 2017, Mavis Khoo-Oei donated $100,000 to KTPH for a nursing scholarship fund. In August 2018, KTPH launched the Mavis Khoo Nursing Leaders Scholarship, an award for well-performing nurses that provides them with further learning opportunities in areas such as leadership and policy studies.

Newsworthy incident

Court case (1990)

In May 1979, Mavis Khoo-Oei allegedly purchased two residential properties at Scotts Road and Cairnhill Road in Singapore as a nominee of Goodwood Park Hotel of which her father, a Malaysian at the time, was a majority shareholder. The purchase of these properties contravened Section 23(1)(a) of the Residential Properties Act, which states:

No citizen or approved purchaser shall purchase or acquire any estate or interest in any residential property as a nominee of any foreign person with the intention that the citizen or approved purchaser shall hold it in trust for that foreign person.

As such, Mavis Khoo-Oei was charged with two counts of violating the Residential Properties Act in June 1989. In April 1990, she was found guilty and fined $1,000 for the incident.