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Chee Swee Cheng (1866 — 22 August 1938) was a prominent Peranakan businessman and banker in Singapore and North Borneo.^[1]

Early life and education

Chee was born in Malacca in 1866, where he received his education. He was the grandson of prominent merchant Chee Yam Chuan.^[2]

Career

Chee came to Singapore at the age of 16 and became employed at Lim Tiang Wah & Co. as a cashier. He was employed at Leack, Chin Seng & Co four years later.^[2] In 1890, he became a trustee of the Keng Teck Whay society.^[3] In 1900, he became a partner of the General Spirit and Opium Farm in North Borneo. He was later appointed the farm's manager. He was then given 5,000 acres of land by the local government for planting, which he used for cultivating tapioca and later rubber, as well as establish a sawmill.^[2] He also founded two scholarships, established several brickfields and developed many shophouses.^[4] He then returned to Singapore and established an ice factory.^[2]

In 1917, Chee co-founded the Ho Hong Bank in Singapore, and served as the bank's director.^[5] When the bank merged with the Chinese Commercial Bank and the Oversea-Chinese Bank to form the Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation in 1932, he became the first chairman of the Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation.^[6]

Personal life and death

Chee built the Chee Family Mansion in Malacca in honour of his father.^[7] He was a philanthropist, and frequently donated to several local institutions, including the St. Andrew's Mission Hospital and the Child Welfare Society.^[8]

He died on 22 August 1938.^[5]

References

^ Wright, Arnold; Cartwright, H. A. (1908). Twentieth Century Impressions of British Malaya: Its History, People, Commerce, Industries, and Resources. p. 902.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Song, Ong Siang (1923). One Hundred Years' History of the Chinese in Singapore. pp. 406–407.
^ Tan, Ronney. "Chee Swee Cheng: The Man with the Midas Touch". The Peranakan Magazine. The Peranakan Association Singapore. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
^ "Mr. Chee Swee Cheng". The Straits Budget. Singapore. 27 October 1938. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
^ ^a ^b "MR. CHEE SWEE CHENG, NOTED CHINESE, DIES". The Malaya Tribune. Singapore. 23 October 1938. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
^ "Portrait of Mr. Chee Swee Cheng, 1930s". BookSG. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
^ Knapp, Ronald G. (12 February 2013). Chinese Houses of Southeast Asia: The Eclectic Architecture of Sojourners and Settlers. ISBN 9781462905874.
^ "PIONEER WORK IN B.N.B. and Labuan of Mr. Chee Swee Cheng". The Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser. Singapore. 14 June 1935. Retrieved 16 March 2023.

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