Haw Par Corporation Limited is a Singaporean company involved in healthcare, leisure products, property and investment. It is the company responsible for Tiger Balm branded

liniment Liniment (from la, linere, meaning "to anoint"), also called embrocation and heat rub, is a medicated topical preparation for application to the skin. Some liniments have viscosity similar to that of water; others are lotion or balm; still other ...

(ointment). Its brands also included Kwan Loong and it also owns and operates weekend and leisure time destinations such as oceanariums. The Haw Par Group owns two oceanariums: the now-defunct Underwater World oceanarium attraction at Sentosa, Singapore, and Underwater World Pattaya in Thailand.

History

Predecessors

The predecessor of Haw Par Corporation, Eng Aun Tong, was founded by

Aw Chu Kin Aw Chu Kin (Chinese: 胡子钦 ? – 1908 in Rangoon, British Raj) was a Burmese Chinese herbalist. He is best known as the original inventor of Tiger Balm. Aw's father was a Chinese herbology practitioner in Xiamen and a Hakka Chinese with a ...

, father of Aw Boon Haw and Boon Par brothers. Eng Aun Tong was then relocated to Singapore and expanded its branch to many Chinese communities in Asia. Aw Boon Haw also built Haw Par Villas in Hong Kong, Singapore and in Yongding District, Longyan, China. A private company, Haw Par Brothers (Private) Limited was incorporated in 1932 as a holding company for a vast majority of the family assets.

Establishment, IPO and family dispute

Haw Par Brothers International Limited was incorporated on 18 July 1969 by the Aw family (descendant of the late Aw Boon Haw and Boon Par brothers), in order to list most of the assets of Haw Par Brothers (Private) Limited on the Stock Exchange of Malaysia and Singapore. The assets included the brand Eng Aun Tong and Tiger Balm for

products,

Sin Poh (Star News) Amalgamated Sin Poh (Star News) Amalgamated Limited was a Singapore publisher, which published ''Sin Chew Jit Poh'' () in Sin Chew Jit Poh (Singapore), Singapore and Sin Chew Daily, Malaysia, as well as ''Sin Pin Jit Poh'' () in Penang, Malaysia. The Mala ...

that publishes newspaper in Singapore and Malaysia, as well as subsidiaries in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Thailand. The company also owned an equity investment in

Chung Khiaw Bank Chung Khiaw Bank Limited was a Singapore bank that was established by millionaire Aw Boon Haw and later became a subsidiary of United Overseas Bank after takeovers in 1971–72. Part of the shares of Chung Khiaw Bank was injected to a listed co ...

(), as well as a lease contract that signed between Haw Par Brothers International and Haw Par Brothers (Private), to use the

Tiger Balm Garden Tiger Balm Gardens are public gardens that existed or continue to exist in three East Asia locations. They are also known as Haw Par Villa gardens. All three Tiger Balm Garden locations were built by the Aw family ( Aw Boon Haw and Aw Boon Par). ...

s in Hong Kong and Singapore that were owned by the latter. The shares started to trade in the exchange in November 1969. The listed company made a major disinvestment in 1970, selling Hong Kong Eng Aun Tong building located in

Wan Chai Road Wan Chai Road ( 灣仔道) is a main road in Wan Chai, on the north side of Hong Kong Island. Wan Chai Road is a L-shape road which was constructed in 1851 along Morrison Hill from the foot of Hospital Hill (now near the old Wan Chai Market buil ...

for HK$2.8 million, in order to raise fund the Hong Kong subsidiary for other investment. Nevertheless, the actual price was disputed, as the buyer told the press in Hong Kong another figure. However, a year after IPO, Aw family sold the controlling stake of the family to

Slater Walker Slater Walker was a British industrial conglomerate turned bank that got into financial difficulties in the 1970s. It specialised in corporate raids. Its fall shook the British banking system at the time, and it had to be bailed out by the Bank of ...

, At the same time Sin Poh (Star News) Amalgamated was privatized by

Aw Cheng Chye Dato Aw Cheng Chye S.P.M.J., B.B.M., O.St.J (1 January 1924 – 22 August 1971) was a Singaporean millionaire and son of the late Aw Boon Par. Aw Cheng Chye himself was the chairman of Haw Par Brothers (Private) Limited and Haw Par Brothers ...

(), eldest son of the late Aw Boon Par. Aw Cheng Chye also bought back some of the shares from Slater Walker. Haw Par Brothers International also sold 49.8% stake of

to United Overseas Bank for S$22 million. Aw Cheng Chye was also re-elected as the chairman of Haw Par Brothers International despite the takeover. After the sudden death of Aw Cheng Chye during a trip in Santiago de Chile in August 1971, as well as re-election of the board of directors, it was reported that the listed company was chaired by Richard Tarling while Haw Par Brothers (Private) Limited was chaired by Aw It Haw (), the fourth and the first biological son of the late Aw Boon Haw. Aw Kow (), the eldest (adopted) son of the late Aw Boon Haw, who resigned as the director of Sin Poh (Star News) Amalgamated and the managing director of '' Sin Chew Jit Poh'' in May 1971 due to his personal investment in ''Eastern Sun'', also sued Haw Par Brothers (Private) Limited in 1972 for blocking him to read its accounts and financial statements, claiming under the late Aw Cheng Chye, the company allowed personal spending of Aw Cheng Chye, was invoiced by the company itself. The lawsuit was settled in 1977, in favour Aw Kow. In the autobiography ''

Escape from Paradise ''Escape from Paradise: From Third World to First'' is a 2001 non-fiction book written by John Harding and May Chu Harding set in Singapore, Brunei, Australia, England, and the United States. The book tells, from the author's perspective, of her ...

'' by John & May Chu Harding, they also claimed that Aw Cheng Chye's decision to make Haw Par Brothers International public, was against the wish of the part of the Aw family. May Chu Harding, ''née'' Lee, was the great-granddaughter of Aw Boon Par, or granddaughter of Lee Chee Shan and Aw Cheng Hu. Lee Chee Shan was the president of Chung Khiaw Bank in 1971. Under Aw Cheng Chye as chairman, Haw Par Brothers (Private) also attempted to sell

of Hong Kong in 1961; the last piece of the garden was sold to

Cheung Kong Cheung Kong (Holdings) Limited, is a multinational conglomerate, based in Hong Kong. It was one of Hong Kong's leading multi-national conglomerates. The company merged with its subsidiary Hutchison Whampoa on 3 June 2015, as part of a maj ...

in 1998 and the main building of the mansion was donated to the Hong Kong Government.

Expansion under Slater Walker

After Haw Par Brothers International was taken over by Slater Walker in June 1971, the new owner changed Haw Par Brothers International from a family-held business into a true business enterprise. Slater Walker also sold 20% stake of Haw Par Brothers International to Slater Walker's associate company Australian Industrial and Mining Corporation (Austim) in November 1971, as well as a second listing of Haw Par Brothers International on the

Hong Kong Stock Exchange The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (SEHK, also known as Hong Kong Stock Exchange) is a stock exchange based in Hong Kong. As of the end of 2020, it has 2,538 listed companies with a combined market capitalization of HK$47 trillion. It is repor ...

and in the London Stock Exchange. Austim sold 55% stake of Motor and General Investment Underwriters Holdings Singapore to Haw Par Brothers International in August 1971. It was announced that the Holdings would purchase a Singapore construction company Scott & English () in September 1971. After the resignation of both Lee Aik Sim (Lee Santipongchai, ), and his wife Aw Cheng Sin (Suri Santipongchai, ), the daughter of late Aw Boon Par as the directors of Haw Par Brothers (Thailand) in January 1972, the subsidiary was sold in the same month to Jack Chia (). Jack Chia and Haw Par Brothers International also formed a joint venture, which the joint venture have the rights to use "Tiger Balm" brand. In March 1972 Haw Par Brothers International acquired fellow pharmaceutical company in Chinese medicines, Hong Kong listed company Kwan Loong & Co., However, Slater Walker turned the Hong Kong company into an investment vehicle in financial market, which was known as Slater Walker Securities (Hong Kong). In April 1972, Haw Par Brothers International made a strategic investment on a property on 302 Orchard Road. In 1973 the company expanded to Japan as well as bought 29% stake of a London-listed company London Tin Corporation. Haw Par Brothers International financed the deal by a proposed recapitalization. The stake was sold in 1976 and the sub-holding company that Haw Par Brothers International established in London, was sold in 1982.

Collapse of Slater Walker

The parent company Slater Walker was collapsed after the

secondary banking crisis of 1973–75 Secondary may refer to: Science and nature * Secondary emission, of particles ** Secondary electrons, electrons generated as ionization products * The secondary winding, or the electrical or electronic circuit connected to the secondary winding ...

; the company was bailed out by the

Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the English Government's banker, and still one of the bankers for the Government of ...

. For Haw Par Brothers International itself, financial irregularities were exposed, for which former chairman Tarling was jailed for 6 months in 1979. Since 13 December 1978, the company has been chaired by Singaporean banker,

Wee Cho Yaw Wee Cho Yaw (; born 1929) is a Singaporean billionaire businessman, and chairman emeritus and honorary adviser of the United Overseas Bank (UOB) and United Industrial Corporation (UIC) in Singapore. He is also chairman of the UOL Group. Wee ...

. As of 30 March 2020, Wee, through his family investment vehicle, owns 36.23% of the company's shares.

Subsidiaries, brands and products

Kwan Loong () originated from a different listed company of the same name (Kwan Loong & Co., ), which was acquired in March 1972. It produces medicated oil, specifically , literally "oil that expels headaches."

Gallery

File:89 Neil Road, Singapore - 20121013.jpg, Former Eng Aun Tong in Singapore. Photographed in 2012 File:廈門永安堂 1930年代.jpg, Eng Aun Tong Building in Xiamen, c. 1930s. It was nationalized by the PRC in 1949 File:Eng Aun Tong advertisement 1930s.jpg, 1930s Eng Aun Tong ad File:Sin Chew Jit Poh 1.JPG, First issue of ''Sin Chew Jit Poh'' in 1929. ''Sin Chew Jit Poh'' was the product of Haw Par Brothers International from 1969–1971

Footnotes

References

External links

* {{Official website 1969 establishments in Singapore Conglomerate companies of Singapore Companies formerly listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange Companies listed on the Singapore Exchange Health care companies of Singapore Aw family Family-owned companies of Singapore Singaporean companies established in 1969