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Hagemeyer Trading is an international company that specialises in business-to-business products and services. It was established in 1904 by two brothers, Anton and Johan Hagemeijer, in Surabaya, Java, for the purpose of importing products into the Dutch East Indies (present day Indonesia). In 1973, Hagemeyer set up its Asia regional...
Lee Kong Chian (Dr) (b. 18 October 1893, Nan’an, Quanzhou, Fujian, China–d. 2 June 1967, Singapore), also known as Geok Kun, was a philanthropist and multi-millionaire businessman who made his mark in the rubber trade and later the pineapple, coconut oil and sawmill businesses, among others. Lee also invested large...
Lee Chiaw Meng (???) (Dr) (b. 28 February 1937, Singapore–d. 23 May 2001, Singapore) served as the member of Parliament (MP) for Farrer Park (1968–80) and then for Tanah Merah (1980–84), minister for education (1972–75) and minister for science and technology (1975–76). ...
Tan Kah Kee (b. 21 October 1874, Jimei, Tong’an, Quanzhou, Fujian, China–d. 12 August 1961, Beijing, China) was a prominent Chinese businessman and philanthropist, nicknamed the “Henry Ford of Malaya”. He contributed extensively to the financing of schools and establishment of well-planned clusters of educational institutions, both in Singapore and...
Pawnbroking in Singapore started in the 19th century. In the past, pawnbrokers were regarded as the “poor man’s bankers”. Now their customers include white-collar workers, gamblers and businessmen, and an increasing number of younger customers. ...
Overseas Union Bank (OUB), now defunct, was founded in 1947 in Singapore by Lien Ying Chow. It began operations in February 1949, and by the 1970s had grown to become one of Singapore’s “Big Four” local banks. In 2002, OUB was acquired by United Overseas Bank (UOB) for S$10 billion....
The Japan–Singapore Economic Arrangement for a New Age Partnership is Singapore’s first free-trade agreement (FTA) with a major trading partner and Japan’s first-ever FTA. It came into effect on 30 November 2002, and the next review of the accord is scheduled to be held after 31 December 2017....
Tan Ean Kiam (???) (b. 1881, Tong’an, Xiamen, Fujian, China–d. 30 March 1943, Singapore) was a rubber magnate and banker. In addition to being the managing director of the Oversea Chinese Bank and later the Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC), Tan made many contributions to the Chinese communities in Singapore and...
The referendum on merger with the Federation of Malaysia, also known as the Singapore National Referendum, was held on 1 September 1962. The idea for a referendum to be held was championed by then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew of the People’s Action Party (PAP). The official purpose of the...
Herman Ronald Hochstadt (b. 1933, Singapore–) is a former top civil servant who worked in various ministries. He was also a leader in the corporate world and subsequently Singapore’s high commissioner to a number of African countries. Hochstadt is a prominent figure in the Eurasian community and the patron of...