Ng Teng Fong (; 28 July 1928 – 2 February 2010) was a

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, bor ...

real estate Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more genera ...

tycoon with a major presence in Hong Kong. He is the father of Robert Ng. In 1997,

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...

listed the two as the 30th richest people in the world.

History

Ng Teng Fong was born in a small village in

Putian Putian or Putien (, Putian dialect: ''Pó-chéng''), also known as Puyang (莆阳) and Puxian (莆仙), historically known as Xinghua or Hing Hwa (), is a prefecture-level city in eastern Fujian province, China. It borders Fuzhou City to the no ...

Fujian Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

. The eldest of 11 children, he moved to

with his family when he was six. Having little formal education, Ng worked at his parents’ soy sauce factory and as a bicycle repairman in his younger days. He started his first business with a provision shop and subsequently found his niche in the business of property development. Ng managed to raise enough capital to establish

Far East Organization Far East Organization is one of the largest private real estate developers in Singapore. It has businesses in property development, retail, hospitality, and food and beverage brands in Asia and Australia. The company was founded by the late Si ...

(FEO) around 1960. FEO’s first residential development project was Jalan Pacheli in

Serangoon Garden Serangoon Garden Estate is a residential estate in the Serangoon district of the North-East Region of Singapore. History Serangoon Garden is one of the oldest estates on the island, and was built during the 1950s. The estate was upgraded in ...

s which was completed in 1962. Ng expanded into the hotel industry with the Singapura Forum Hotel and Hilton Singapore Hotel on Orchard Road and other residential developments at Katong and Watten Estate. By the 1980s, he was the largest private landowner and developer in the country. His influence on Singapore's prime retail property, including the development of malls such as Far East Plaza and

Lucky Plaza Lucky Plaza is a shopping centre located in Orchard in Singapore. Built by developer Far East Organization, Lucky Plaza was completed in 1981 and has proven to be one of the most successful shopping centres in Singapore. History Before Lucky P ...

gave him the moniker "King of Orchard Road". He ventured into the Hong Kong property markets in 1970s. Ng's family owns the development corporations

and

Sino Group Established in 1971, Sino Group () comprises three listed companies – Sino Land Company Limited (HKSE: 083), Tsim Sha Tsui Properties Limited (HKSE: 0247), Sino Hotels (Holdings) Limited (HKSE: 1221) – and private companies held by the Ng Fa ...

. Far East Organization was established as an umbrella for Ng's Singapore-based companies, which includes Far East Hospitality, Far East Orchard, and

Yeo Hiap Seng Yeo Hiap Seng Limited (, Commonly known as Yeo's) is a Singaporean beverage company. It operates as an investment holding company as well as a drink manufacturer in Singapore and Malaysia. It is a multinational corporation that has offices and m ...

. Hong Kong-based Sino Group is a sister group to the FEO. The group oversees 180 privately held developments and investment companies and two publicly-listed companies. Far East Organization is Singapore’s largest private property developer and Sino Group is a major player in Hong Kong’s property market. Despite Ng Teng Fong's vast fortune, he had a reputation for leading a frugal and miserly lifestyle. Though he controlled at least a quarter of Singapore's housing market, Ng lived in the same house he'd had for 30 years, and used to take his own lunch on the airplanes. Ng suffered a

cerebral hemorrhage Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as cerebral bleed, intraparenchymal bleed, and hemorrhagic stroke, or haemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain, into its ventricles, or into both. It is one kind of bleed ...

on 23 January 2010 and, after an unsuccessful operation, died on 2 February 2010 at the age of 82. At his death, he was reportedly the richest person in Singapore. At the time of his death, Sino Group was one of Hong Kong's largest real estate developers, and Far East Organization remained one of the largest landholders in Singapore. Far East Organization also owns The Fullerton Singapore and numerous other landmark hotels and other properties. His family donated $125 million in 2011 for the building of a Singaporean hospital in

Jurong East Jurong East is a planning area and residential town situated in the West Region of Singapore. It borders Jurong West and Boon Lay to the west, Clementi to the east, Tengah and Bukit Batok to the north and Selat Jurong to the south. First ...

and the Ng Teng Fong General Hospital was subsequently named after the late property tycoon.

Personal life

Ng was married to Tan Kim Choo and had seven children. His eldest son, Robert Ng Chee Siong oversees the Sino Group in Hong Kong with his son

Daryl Darryl is an English name, a variant spelling of Darell. Male variations of this name include: Darlin, Daryl, Darrell, Darryl, Daryll, Darryll, Darrell, Darrel. Female and unisex variations of this name include: Daryl, Darian, Dareen, Darell ...

. Ng's younger son, Philip Ng Chee Tat is the chief executive of Far East Organization since 1991 and served as Singapore's Non-Resident Ambassador to Chile and Argentina. Robert and Philip's combined family net worth was estimated to be US$9.7 billion in 2017. The family's wealth is held through Sino Group and Far East Organization.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ng, Teng Fong 1928 births 2010 deaths Singaporean billionaires Singaporean businesspeople Singaporean people of Henghua descent People from Putian Sino Group Businesspeople from Fujian Billionaires from Fujian Chinese emigrants to Singapore Chinese company founders Singaporean expatriates in Hong Kong