Lien Ying Chow, George, (; 2 August 1906 - 6 August 2004) was a Singaporean businessperson. He is one of the founders of Overseas Chinese Union Bank (later known as Overseas Union Bank), which merged with

United Overseas Bank United Overseas Bank Limited (), often known as UOB, is a Singaporean multinational banking corporation headquartered in Singapore, with branches mostly found in most Southeast Asian countries. Founded in 1935 as United Chinese Bank (UCB) by S ...

in 2001.

Early life

Lien was born on 2 August 1906 in the village of Dabu,

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...

, China, becoming an

orphan An orphan (from the el, ορφανός, orphanós) is a child whose parents have died. In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents due to death is called an orphan. When referring to animals, only the mother's condition is usuall ...

at the age of ten. Around the age of fourteen, Lien immigrated to

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

, with little money to spare. In 1928, some eight years after reaching Singapore, Lien founded his own trading company, Wah Hin and Company, using his savings.

Career

Lien was given the role of president of the

Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce The Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCCI; ) is a business chamber in Singapore. The chamber was originally created to protect and promote the commercial interest of the Chinese community in Singapore but it also played a r ...

in 1941. Also a food and drink supplier to the British Army, he fled by boat to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, a few days before the

Japanese occupation of Singapore , officially , was the name for Singapore when it was occupied and ruled by the Empire of Japan, following the fall and surrender of British military forces on 15 February 1942 during World War II. Japanese military forces occupied it after ...

. Singapore's Mandarin Hotel belonged to him. During the 1960s, Lien was the High Commissioner of Singapore to Malaysia. Lien cofounded

Nanyang University Nanyang University (, also known as Nantah (), was a university in Singapore between 1956 and 1980. During its existence, it was Singapore's only private university in the Chinese language. In 1980, Nanyang University was merged with the Univer ...

and is the founder of Overseas Union Bank (formerly Overseas Chinese Union Bank), which, in 2001, became part of

, as well as the Lien Foundation, which he established in 1980. He was winner of the

American Academy of Achievement The American Academy of Achievement, colloquially known as the Academy of Achievement, is a non-profit educational organization that recognizes some of the highest achieving individuals in diverse fields and gives them the opportunity to meet o ...

's Golden Plate Award in 1981. Lien was appointed first chairman of the Preservation of Monuments Board in 1972, a statutory board of the Ministry of National Development.

Personal life

Lien was acquainted with

Tunku Abdul Rahman Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj ibni Almarhum Sultan Abdul Hamid Halim Shah ( ms, ‏تونكو عبد الرحمن ڤوترا الحاج ابن سلطان عبد الحميد حليم شاه, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset; 8 Febru ...

, then-

Prime Minister of Malaysia The prime minister of Malaysia ( ms, Perdana Menteri Malaysia; ms, ڤردان منتري مليسيا, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset) is the head of government of Malaysia. The prime minister directs the executive branch of the fede ...

. The duo were said to be "good friends". He also had ties with the royal family of

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

as well as a number of Thai officials. Lien was married four times. His first wife, Wee Siew Kim, died. His marriages to Mok Mei Lan and Kay Leong ended in divorce. In 1964 Lien married Margaret Chan Wen Hsien, and he predeceased her. He had eight children (four daughters and four sons). Wee Siew Kim was the mother of seven of them, and the last was by Mok Mei Lan.

Death

Lien died on 6 August 2004, aged 98. The cause of his death was

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

. Lien was described by Ming San Tee as " e business kingpin known by households", while the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' wrote that he was a "self-made Singapore banking tycoon".

Legacy

*In February 2016, Singapore's

Mediacorp Mediacorp Pte. Ltd., doing business as Mediacorp and stylised as mediacorp, is a media conglomerate in Singapore. Owned by Temasek Holdings—the holding company of the Government of Singapore—it owns television, radio, and digital media prope ...

airs Men With A Mission, an SG50 documentary series that profiles five influential men who helped propel the rise of modern Singapore:

Yusof Ishak Yusof bin Ishak (12 August 191023 November 1970) was a Singaporean politician and journalist who served as the first president of Singapore from 1965 until his death in 1970. Prior to becoming head of state, Yusof was a well-known journalis ...

, George Bogaars,

Hon Sui Sen Benedict Hon Sui Sen (; 16 April 1916 – 14 October 1983) was a Singaporean politician who served as Minister for Finance between 1970 and 1983. A member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), he was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hav ...

, Lien Ying Chow and S Rajaratnam. *Lien Ying Chow Drive, a road in

Nanyang Technological University The Nanyang Technological University (NTU) is a national research university in Singapore. It is the second oldest autonomous university in the country and is considered as one of the most prestigious universities in the world by various inte ...

, is named after him. *Lien Ying Chow Library, a library in

Ngee Ann Polytechnic Ngee Ann Polytechnic (NP) is a post-secondary education institution and statutory board under the purview of the Ministry of Education in Singapore. Established in 1963, the polytechnic is renowned for its business programmes. History Ngee An ...

, is named after him.

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chow, Lien Ying 1906 births 2004 deaths Singaporean people of Chinese descent Chinese emigrants to British Malaya