MWE Plaza

MWE Plaza
Map
General information
Address8, Farquhar Street, 10200 George Town, Penang, Malaysia
Town or cityGeorge Town, Penang
CountryMalaysia
Coordinates5°25′20″N 100°20′07″E / 5.4221°N 100.3353°E / 5.4221; 100.3353
Opened1996
OwnerMWE Holdings
Height
Top floor25
Technical details
Floor count25

MWE Plaza is an office building within George Town in the Malaysian state of Penang. Located at the junction of Farquhar and Leith streets within the city's Central Business District (CBD), the 25-storey building was opened in 1996.[1][2] It is owned by MWE Holdings, which was founded by Low Hock Peng, the father of international fugitive Jho Low.[3][4]

History

MWE Holdings was founded by Low Hock Peng and initially operated in the textile manufacturing industry before diversifying into real estate.[3][5] In 1994, the company raised RM30 million through bonds for the construction of the 25-storey MWE Plaza, which was completed by 1996.[1][2]

In 2021, MWE Plaza became embroiled in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal when the Kuala Lumpur High Court ordered the seizure of Low's assets, some of which were kept at the Maybank branch within the building.[6] In the years leading to the court order, Low's son Jho Low had gained international notoriety for his central role in the scandal. Jho Low cited government prosecution against his family as the reason for his refusal to return to Malaysia to face charges of money laundering and criminal breach of trust.[7]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "MWE Plaza, George Town - SkyscraperPage.com". skyscraperpage.com. Retrieved 2024-10-10.
  2. ^ a b Annual Companies Handbook. Vol. 21. Bursa Malaysia. 1996. p. 61.
  3. ^ a b "A millionaire before graduating". The Star. 29 July 2010. Archived from the original on 27 August 2018. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
  4. ^ "City & Country: Accidental developer". Edgeprop.my. Retrieved 2024-10-10.
  5. ^ "Annual General Meeting 1999" (PDF). MEW Holdings. 1999 – via National University of Singapore.
  6. ^ Achariam, Timothy (25 Mar 2021). "Govt allowed to seize RM49m in cash belonging to Jho Low's father". The Edge. Retrieved 10 Oct 2024.
  7. ^ "Jho Low: Freezing of dad's bank accounts shows no fair trial for me". Malaysiakini. 29 Mar 2019. Retrieved 10 Oct 2024.