Lim Han Weng never planned on becoming one of Malaysia’s most successful businessmen. After finishing high school in Penang, he worked as a car salesman. But he had big dreams. In 1984, together with his wife Bah Kim Lian, he started a small transport and trading business in Johor Bahru. They named it Yinson, after Lim’s mother, Yin. The name means “cloud rising” in Chinese, showing Lim’s hope that the company would one day rise to great heights.
In the early years, Yinson focused on logistics and transportation, helping move goods for other businesses. But Lim soon saw bigger opportunities. He moved into marine logistics, supplying ships and offshore support vessels to oil and gas companies. By 1996, the company had grown enough to be listed on Bursa Malaysia, Malaysia’s stock exchange.
A New Generation Joins the Business
In 2005, Lim’s son, Lim Chern Yuan, joined the company. He had just finished his degree in accountancy and finance from the University of Melbourne in Australia. With a new generation on board, Yinson began to grow even faster. In 2011, they joined a project with Petrovietnam to develop a floating storage and offloading (FSO) vessel. This was the first time Yinson worked on a large offshore oil facility.
The biggest step came in 2013, when Yinson made a bold decision to buy Fred. Olsen Production, a Norwegian company that owned and managed FPSO vessels (floating production, storage, and offloading). The price was $170 million, more than what Yinson was worth at the time. It was a huge risk, but it paid off. This move made Yinson a global FPSO operator and opened the door to even bigger projects around the world.
Growing Into a Global Giant
Today, Yinson is one of the largest FPSO companies in the world, as it has $21 billion worth of leasing contracts extending until 2048. That makes the company the world’s second-largest, behind Dutch company SBM Offshore with $35 billion.
The company has nine FPSO vessels operating in countries like Angola, Ghana, Nigeria, Vietnam, and Brazil. These vessels work on long-term contracts, lasting 15 to 25 years, which help bring in steady income for the company.
In Brazil, the world’s biggest market for FPSO vessels, Yinson has done especially well. Since entering the country in 2018, the company has signed deals with Petrobras and Enauta, two major oil firms. In fact, Brazil now contributes around 40% of Yinson’s total revenue, which was RM7.6 billion (US$1.7 billion) in the financial year ending January 2025.
To celebrate the opening of Yinson’s new office in Rio de Janeiro, Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim even made a stop there after attending the APEC Summit in Peru. He praised Yinson as an example of Malaysia’s commitment to helping meet the world’s energy needs through innovation and responsibility.
The Agogo FPSO: A New Milestone
In February 2025, Lim Han Weng and Chern Yuan were in Shanghai for a special ceremony. They were there to name Yinson’s largest and most advanced vessel yet, the Agogo FPSO. This massive ship cost $2 billion to build and is headed to Angola, where it will be used to extract oil from deep-sea wells for Azule Energy, a joint venture between BP and Eni.
The Agogo can process up to 120,000 barrels of oil per day and is expected to earn Yinson $5.3 billion over the next 15 years. It is also the company’s first vessel with green technologies, which will help reduce carbon emissions by 27% compared to older ships.
Staying Strong During Tough Times
Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, Yinson continued to make profits. This is because its contracts are long-term and bring in income even when oil prices go down. However, the company has had to take on more debt to build new vessels. Since 2020, Yinson’s debt has increased four times, reaching RM16 billion, and its gearing ratio (a measure of debt compared to assets) is now 1.9 times.
In the year ending January 2025, the company’s net profit dropped by 22% to RM752 million. This was because of higher finance charges from the debt and a fall in income from engineering work. Still, analysts are confident that Yinson will recover, especially once the Agogo FPSO starts producing oil by September.
A Greener Future
As the world shifts towards cleaner energy, Yinson has also started to move in that direction. In 2020, the company set up Yinson Renewables. It now owns solar power plants in India and Peru and is also growing its electric vehicle (EV) charging network in Southeast Asia.
While the renewable energy business is still small, making up just 2% of Yinson’s revenue in 2024, Chern Yuan believes it will grow fast. He hopes that Yinson will become carbon neutral by 2030. “We’re playing both sides of the equation,” he said, referring to the balance between traditional oil and gas projects and the new push for green energy.
Backed by Global Investors
In January 2025, global investors showed strong belief in Yinson’s future. The company raised $1 billion from big names like the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, British Columbia Investment Management, and RRJ Capital. The money will be used to support both the FPSO business and renewable energy projects.
Yinson is also planning to increase dividends for shareholders, buy back more shares, and maybe even spin off Yinson Production its FPSO unit for a public listing outside of Asia. These moves could help the company become more valuable in the eyes of global investors.
A Family Legacy That Keeps Growing
While Lim Han Weng focuses on Yinson, he hasn’t stopped building other businesses. In 1993, he started Liannex, a company that moves raw materials like coal, bauxite, and scrap metal around Southeast Asia. In 2024, he bought a controlling stake in Icon Offshore for RM173 million, and turned it into Lianson Fleet Group, now led by his younger son, Lim Chern Wooi.
Lim’s eldest son, Lim Chern Chuen, 44, runs HI Mobility, the company behind Causeway Link buses, which transport more than 300,000 passengers between Malaysia and Singapore every day. In March 2025, the company raised RM116 million in an IPO and reported a 73% rise in revenue to RM208 million. The growth was helped by new plans for the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone, which will make travel and trade easier between the two countries.
No Plans to Retire
From selling cars to managing billion-ringgit energy projects around the world, Lim’s journey is proof that with hard work, vision, and the support of a committed family, even the boldest dreams can come true.
At 73 years old, with a net worth of RM2.15 billion (US$480 million), Lim Han Weng has achieved more than most people ever dream of. But he’s not slowing down. “I’m seeing more and more opportunities… I have to work until the last day.,” he says.
Source: here
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