The Naza siblings

By Sharen Kaur


THE Naza Group of Companies was founded by the late Tan Sri Nasimuddin Amin in 1974.

It has 14 business divisions, namely motor trading, motorbikes, properties, manufacturing, transport services, machine tools and parts, engineering, plantation, cigarette distribution, credit and leasing, water crafts, insurance agency and hotel operation.

Nasimuddin was one of the finest examples of a New Economic Policy Bumiputera success stories.

Born on Jan 25, 1955, Nasimuddin studied at Sekolah Menengah Tuanku Muhammad in Kuala Pilah, Negeri Sembilan.

He began his automotive business at the age of 21 with a capital of RM80,000 he had accumulated by working for his father who was in the contracting business.

He made his first million a year later by applying for government-issued Approved Permits (APs) to import used cars from Japan.

The Naza Group is now known for its car-making businesses with South Korea's Kia Motors Corp, and more recently, PSA Peugeot Citroen of France.

It also distributes exotic marques like Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, Porsche, Bentley and Ducati.

In August 2005, Naza Group opened its doors to a new automotive showroom in Petaling Jaya, dubbed Naza Auto Mall, which became its landmark.

Nasimuddin's five children, aged 23 to 32, are involved in the operation of Naza Group.

They are SM Faisal SM Nasimuddin, Nur Diana SM Nasimuddin, SM Nasarudin SM Nasimuddin, SM Faliq SM Nasimuddin and Nur Nadia SM Nasimuddin.

Nasarudin and Faisal are both joint group executive chairman of Naza Group. They are also group chief executive officers of several businesses under the group.

Faliq, 24, the youngest of the three brothers, is group managing director of Naza TTDI Sdn Bhd (formerly, TTDI Development Sdn Bhd).

Naza TTDI's on-going projects include the RM4 billion Platinum Park in Kuala Lumpur, Laman Seri in Shah Alam and TTDI Plaza in Taman Tun Dr Ismail.

Faliq has plans to grow Naza TTDI and take it to new heights. One of the plan is to have a back door listing for the company, soon.

Diana is a director of Naza Group and Tutti Frutti Frozen Yogurt (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd. She holds a Masters in International Market, and a Degree in Business Studies and Information Management.

Nadia, who has a degree in management studies and is the youngest of the five siblings, heads the hotel division, and the food and beverage business of the Naza Group.

The 23-year-old is looking to do her Masters in Hotel Management in Switzerland, after building her hotel empire in Malaysia.

The division currently owns and manages a hotel each in Johor Bharu, Penang and Malacca, called Naza Talyya Hotel.

They are three and four star properties with around 130 rooms each.

Nadia is planning to include a collection of four and five star properties, and boutique hotels in its existing portfolio.

Each hotel category will be branded differently, but under the Naza umbrella.

Naza Group also holds the franchise to operate Howard Johnson in Torrance and the Crowne Plaza Hotel in San Pedro, Los Angeles.

(ENDS)