Low Tuck Kwong
Indonesian coal-mining businessman; founder of Bayan Resources
| Low Tuck Kwong
| |
|---|---|
| Born | 17 April 1948 (Forbes) Singapore (Forbes) |
| Nationality | Indonesian |
| Residence | Jakarta (Forbes) |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Known for | Founder of Bayan Resources |
Low Tuck Kwong (born 17 April 1948) is an Indonesian businessman, born in Singapore, who founded the coal miner Bayan Resources.[1] In October 2026 he and his daughter Elaine sold a 30.25% stake in Bayan to Jhonlin Baratama, the investment vehicle of Andi Syamsuddin Arsyad (Haji Isam), at well below the market price. The deal cut his own holding from 40.15% to 9.95%.[2][3][1] On 11 November 2026 the Forbes Real-Time Billionaires list ranked Low 366th in the world, with an estimated net worth of US$9.7 billion; Forbes lists the source of wealth as coal.[1][4] In the annual World's Billionaires list published in 2026, Forbes had ranked Low 131st, at US$20.2 billion.[5]
Career
Forbes says Low worked for his father's construction company in Singapore as a teenager and moved to Indonesia in 1972. He did well as a building contractor before buying his first mine in 1997.[1] It says he listed Bayan Resources in 2008, after an earlier attempt to sell the company had failed.[1] In 2025 Bayan mined 68 million tonnes of coal, and it holds concessions covering about 126,000 hectares in East and South Kalimantan.[3] Forbes also says Low controls the Singapore renewable energy company Metis Energy, formerly Manhattan Resources, has interests in The Farrer Park Company and Samindo Resources, and backs SEAX Global, a submarine cable project linking Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia.[1]
Forbes says that in 2024 Low transferred a stake in Bayan then worth US$6.6 billion to his daughter Elaine.[1] On 16 September 2026 the two signed a conditional agreement to sell Bayan shares to Jhonlin Baratama, and the sale was completed on 7 October.[3] VnExpress, citing Bayan's stock exchange filings, reported that the 10.08 billion shares, or 30.25%, took Low's stake down from 40.15% to 9.95% and Elaine's from 22.1% to 22.05%. Citing Reuters and LSEG data, it said the shares traded at Rp2,588 each, about Rp26.1 trillion (US$1.46 billion) in total, while Bayan shares closed the next day at Rp12,275.[2] Forbes put the price at 80% below market.[1]
Production quotas and the sale
The Jakarta Globe reported that on 11 September 2026 three Bayan subsidiaries had declared force majeure on coal supply contracts because they could not secure extra production quotas. The sale agreement was signed five days later, and on 21 September the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry approved additional quotas of 15 to 20 million tonnes for the three subsidiaries.[3] The paper said the sequence raised questions among investors, and described Haji Isam as widely regarded as an ally of President Prabowo Subianto. The ministry denied any connection, saying the approvals followed the completion of administrative requirements.[3] A Bayan director, speaking for Low, said the sale was "purely a business transaction, conducted transparently and without any pressure".[3]
Philanthropy
Forbes reports that in 2019 Low gave US$7 million to Dana Lestari ITB, an endowment fund of the Bandung Institute of Technology.[1]
Wealth history
Forbes has included this entry in its annual World's Billionaires list in 16 of the editions from 2001 to 2026 checked for this profile, starting with 2010. The table gives the rank and estimated net worth in each annual list.[5][1]
| Year | World's Billionaires rank | Net worth (US$ bn) |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 828 | 1.2 |
| 2011 | 304 | 3.6 |
| 2012 | 304 | 3.6 |
| 2013 | 882 | 1.7 |
| 2014 | 1284 | 1.3 |
| 2015 | 1741 | 1.0 |
| 2016 | 1694 | 1.0 |
| 2018 | 1561 | 1.5 |
| 2019 | 962 | 2.4 |
| 2020 | 1851 | 1.1 |
| 2021 | 2524 | 1.1 |
| 2022 | 801 | 3.7 |
| 2023 | 56 | 25.5 |
| 2024 | 66 | 27.4 |
| 2025 | 72 | 27.3 |
| 2026 | 131 | 20.2 |
International and political links
This section uses the same ten headings for every profile in this series. Only specific, sourced actions are included; company-level and foundation-level actions are labelled as such. Where nothing was found, the entry reads "No documented involvement found in sources checked."
Israel (investments, operations, donations, contracts, statements)
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Zionist or pro-Israel organisations and lobbying groups
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Jewish communal charities
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Gulf states
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
China
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Russia
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
India
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Palestinian or Arab causes
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Home government
Low lives in Jakarta and his main business, Bayan Resources, mines coal in Kalimantan.[1][3]
Other international links
He was born in Singapore and controls the Singapore-based Metis Energy, according to Forbes.[1]
Notes
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 Forbes, Forbes profile record for Low Tuck Kwong (Forbes data feed behind forbes.com/profile/low-tuck-kwong/) Forbes, live record, read 11 November 2026, accessed 11 November 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Minh Hieu, Singapore-born billionaire Low Tuck Kwong, daughter complete sale of 30.25% stake in Indonesia-based Bayan Resources to local tycoon VnExpress International, 11 October 2026, accessed 11 November 2026.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Iman Rahman Cahyadi, Low Tuck Kwong: Bayan Share Sale to Haji Isam Was 'Purely a Business Transaction' Jakarta Globe, 9 November 2026, accessed 11 November 2026.
- ↑ Forbes, Forbes Real-Time Billionaires data feed Forbes, live; downloaded 11 November 2026 16:19 UTC, accessed 11 November 2026.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Forbes, Forbes World's Billionaires list data feed, annual editions 2001–2026 (one file per year at this path with the year substituted; all 26 files downloaded and read) Forbes, annual lists; downloaded 20 October 2026, accessed 11 November 2026.