Sophisticated Investor Profile: Mohamed Abdul Jaleel

In the designs of Providence, some of us start out at the bottom, so as to be able to give back once we reach the top. This sums up the…

Dr. Clemen Chiang
Dr. Clemen Chiang

In the designs of Providence, some of us start out at the bottom, so as to be able to give back once we reach the top. This sums up the incredible career of Mr Mohamed Abdul Jaleel (Mohamed Abdul Jaleel S/o Muthumaricar Shaik Mohamed at the SGX), whose long, winding and rocky road to success culminated in his own construction logistics company that makes more than SGD100 million a year.

Now, Mr Jaleel is not only CEO of the Mini Environment Service (MES) Group, but a sophisticated investor and award-winning philanthropist. He also heads the Shaik Mohamed Jaleel Foundation which supports families and children’s education, and endeavours to give nearly SGD1 million annually to charity.

From Convenience Store to Construction Empire

Mr Jaleel’s family moved to Singapore from Chennai in the 1960s when he was just five years old. When family funds ran low, his mother and four sisters were forced to return to India. Mr Jaleel helped his father out with his small convenience store, and took on odd jobs such as car washing and cleaning toilets.

It was during one of these odd jobs that he met Mr Low Sum, who was a head at the time at construction firm, Sum Cheong Piling. Mr Jaleel then began accumulating both experience and knowledge in the construction industry, with his very first job as a construction site watchman.

After moving on to other duties such as cleaning and servicing cranes and drains, and equipment piling, Mr Jaleel established MES in 1977. At the time, the company was a sole proprietorship that offered environmental cleaning, manpower recruitment and sub-contracting projects.

What began as a housing initiative for his own workers, eventually led to MES providing accommodations for over 20,000 workers in Singapore. The company has also undertaken housing projects for overseas workers in the Middle East.

Today, MES offers real estate management services and comprehensive integrated property and facilities management for investors and corporations.

Having made a name for himself in the corporate world, Mr Jaleel is also making a name for himself as a philanthropist. He has made sizeable donations to The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund, for example, and the Singapore Indian Development Association. He also volunteers and acts as adviser and mentor to various organisations. For these efforts, Mr Jaleel received the tabla! Community Champion Award in 2013.

Mr Jaleel in Action

Mr Jaleel’s latest trading activities include buying 8 million direct shares of Yongnam Holdings at SGD0.20 on the 20th of February. He also bought 23.5 million direct Yongnam shares at SGD0.21 on the 8th of the same month. An SGX announcement on the same day named Mr Jaleel as a new substantial shareholder of Yongnam Holdings.

Follow the investing action of Mr Mohamed Abdul Jaleel S/o Muthumaricar Shaik Mohamed at https://spiking.com/v/mohamedabdulj, and Yongnam Holdings at https://spiking.com/sgx/axb-yongnam-holdings-limited.

For more from your favourites amongst 11,000 sophisticated investors and the latest stock spiking at the exchange, download the Spiking App today from the App Store or Google Play. For the week’s stock market winners, subscribe to the Spiking Weekly Letter now.

Photo credit: 
http://specials.beritaharian.sg/sgbagus/kegiatan/mes-sumbang-50k-bagi-bantu-keluarga-mangsa-gempa-sabah

Sources:
https://www.bloomberg.com/profiles/companies/1278248D:SP-mini-environment-service-pte-ltd
http://infopub.sgx.com/Apps?A=COW_CorpAnnouncement_Content&B=AnnouncementToday&F=OD34A11GZNOP37VB&H=a37e629605b0640ca824e09f875ae2a41dc4ae4e370cab05316f3af89a2c930c
http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/businessman-mohamed-abdul-jaleel-gives-500000-to-the-straits-times-school-pocket-money
http://news.asiaone.com/news/singapore/story-struggle-and-success?nopaging=1
http://www.sph.com.sg/media_releases/1851