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Forrest Li, co-founder of tech giant Sea Ltd and one-time richest Singaporean, has been badly hit by the recent global stock market crash.
According to a Bloomberg report on May 17, Sea Ltd's American depository receipts have dropped by more than 80 per cent from a peak in October 2021.
This was attributed to "disappointing earnings" and a withdrawal by Shopee from India's retail market, announced in March 2022. The e-commerce platform is owned by Sea Ltd.
Bloomberg added that it is scheduled to report its first-quarter earnings, where it is expected to post a "record loss" of over S$740 million (S$1.03 billion).
The financial news outlet also opined that Sea Ltd's troubles demonstrated the flip side of the "quick wealth creation" seen in the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic, when demand for services such as e-commerce and gaming spiked up.
However, recent developments such as the U.S. Federal Reserve's hike in interest rates and the Russian invasion of Ukraine have contributed to an ongoing downturn in the markets.
Bloomberg cited an internal memo supposedly issued by Li to his employees in March 2022, which stated that this short-term pain had to be endured to "truly maximise" the company's long-term potential. Sea Ltd declined Bloomberg's request for comment on the story.
However, while stung by the crash and no longer one of the world's top 500 richest people, Li is still one of Singapore's wealthiest individuals.
He was estimated by Forbes World's Billionaire's List in April 2022 as being worth US$5.3 billion (S$7.4 billion).
According to the Bloomberg Billionaire's Index, he's now worth US$4.7 billion (S$6.5 billion), which could still buy over 726 million Big Mac Extra Value Meals.
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Top image via Sea Ltd and Gede Bagus Bayu Pentium/Google Maps
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