Tan Sri Dato’ Seri (Dr.) Halim Saad was born on 20 October 1953 in Perlis. He received his formative education at Sekolah Kebangsaan Seri Indera, Kangar, Perlis before joining the Malay College Kuala Kangsar (MCKK). Upon completing his MCE with commendable results, Tan Sri Halim Saad was offered the Colombo Plan Scholarship to pursue his tertiary education in Commerce and Administration at the Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. During his studies in New Zealand (1973-1977), he was awarded the Bilateral Aid Award by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, New Zealand.
Tan Sri Halim Saad graduated with a Bachelor Degree in Commerce and Administration from the Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. He has received several honorary doctorates from notable institutions of higher learning, namely the Honorary Doctorate of Science from Universiti Putra Malaysia (1997), Honorary Doctorate in Management from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (1997), and the Honorary Doctorate of Commerce from Victoria University (2015). Tan Sri Halim Saad was also awarded the Honorary Fellow by the Institute of Landscape Architect Malaysia in 1997.
Tan Sri Halim has an extensive experience in the corporate sector and among his notable contribution to the nation is the establishment of the pre-eminent corporate giants, Renong and United Engineers Malaysia (UEM), of which had bolstered and contributed to the nation’s economic development. The building and operating of the monumental North-South Expressway (NSE) which was the first and largest in South East Asia, was a milestone privatisation project which took only 5 years to complete instead of the 7-year targeted project completion .
In 2001, Tan Sri Halim established the Markmore Group as the sole proprietor. Markmore Group has investments locally and abroad with portfolios which include: Oil & Gas - Onshore Exploration and Production, Mining concession, Renewable Energy, Construction and Property Development, Shopping Mall REIT, Telecommunication Infrastructure, Education, Property Services, and Asset Management Services.
Tan Sri Halim maintains a favourable relation with the government of New Zealand and assisted in initiating a new programme that allows Malaysian accounting students to complete their degrees at Victoria, Auckland and Canterbury universities. Additionally, Tan Sri Halim co-founded the Chair of Malay Studies at Victoria University of Wellington. He was accorded the Distinguished Service Award from Victoria in 1999 and conferred the Friend of New Zealand Award at the Kea World Class New Zealanders Awards in 2015.
Tan Sri Halim was acknowledged as the Insightful Renowned Figure in 1994 by TIME Magazine and also received the Brilliant Service Medal from the Malaysian Association of Youth Clubs (MAYC) in 1995.
Tan Sri Halim has always been passionate about education. In memory of his late father, he established Kolej Yayasan Saad (Saad Foundation College) in 1995, followed by Kolej Matrikulasi Yayasan Saad (Now known as Kolej Yayasan UEM) in 1998. Kolej Yayasan Saad is the first full-boarding private college in Malaysia and is renowned for producing the best results in the PMR and SPM results in Malaysia. In 2013, another brainchild of Tan Sri Halim, the KYS Business School (KYSB) which specialises in professional accountancy qualifications, was incepted. KYSB actively collaborates with the consortium of New Zealand universities in the accounting, commerce, and science courses.
Tan Sri Halim Saad is appointed as the Pro-Chancellor of Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka (UTeM) with effect from 15 January 2021 until 14 January 2024.
