Wee Cho Yaw

Early life Wee was born in Kinmen, Fujian, China to Wee Kheng Chiang, a businessman, and Koh Geok Siew, of Jincheng, Kinmen. Koh was the second wife of Keng Chiang with the approval of his first wife. In 1937, Wee and his family fled to Kuching in Borneo to escape the Sino-Japanese War. He lived with the family of his father's first wife for about a year before moving to Singapore, where he attended Gong Shang Primary School and The Chinese High School.

His education was disrupted by the Japanese invasion of Singapore and Malaya, and Wee spent most of the Japanese Occupation with his family in Karimun in Indonesia. After the Japanese Occupation, Wee returned to Singapore and attended Chung Cheng High School. There he was involved in anti-colonial politics, and was investigated by the British authorities before his father then pulled him out of school.

Career Early career In 1949, Wee started work at Kheng Leong, and Wee made the newspaper headlines for sealing the deal for a bank that at the time had a larger asset base and a larger network of branches. The S$22 million deal saw UOB beat more than six rivals to the deal and doubled UOB's size, creating the second largest banking group in Singapore and Malaysia. Wee later named the Chung Khiaw deal as one of his most important, as it marked UOB's take-off into the wider Asian market.

In 1972, UOB was listed on the Hong Kong exchange and acquired Lee Wah Bank. Two years later, when his father retired as chairman of UOB, Wee was his successor. By the end of the 1970s, Wee was also chairman of Haw Par Brothers International and the Chinese newspaper Sin Chew Jit Poh, and sat on the boards of the Development Bank of Singapore (DBS), Sime Darby and Straits Steamship Company.

The UOB group continued to grow in the 1980s, acquiring Far Eastern Bank and the Industrial and Commercial Bank. Wee took UOB into stockbroking, fund management and futures trading, and acquired property including hotels and shopping malls. The Business Times named Wee Singapore's Businessman of the Year for 1990 and again in 2001, and the ASEAN Business Forum named him its ASEAN Businessman of the Year in 1995.

While a critic of the government's plan to liberalise Singapore's banking sector and allow foreign banks more market access in the 1990s, Wee restructured UOB's operations to meet the increased competition and to continue the bank's expansion in the region.

In June 2001, UOB acquired the Overseas Union Bank (OUB) in a S$10 billion cash-and-shares deal. Wee was credited with a surer grasp of local business culture that allowed him to edge out the government-linked DBS, which also sought to acquire OUB. A day after DBS's unsolicited bid for OUB, Wee visited OUB founder Lien Ying Chow and was able to convince the Lien family to sell their stakes to UOB. Wee later said in an interview that he would have bid for OUB regardless of Lien's response, as the acquisition was vital to the survival of UOB.

Challenges and succession In the mid-2000s, Wee faced a challenge to maintain his family's control over various companies in the UOB group amid a restructuring of the companies’ interlocking shareholdings. This situation arose after the government mandated that banks would have to reduce their shareholdings in non-core businesses to stipulated levels. As companies such as United Overseas Land (UOL), Overseas Union Enterprise (OUE), United Industrial Corporation (UIC) and Haw Par Corporation held stakes in UOB and vice versa, the loss of any one would weaken the Wee family's control of the group and even the core business of UOB. Wee however managed to fend off a bid for UOL from government investment company Temasek Holdings as well as maintain control of UIC, after Filipino billionaire John Gokongwei’s failed takeover attempt.

In November 2006, Wee received the inaugural Credit Suisse-Ernst & Young Lifetime Achievement Award for his pioneering work in Singapore's financial industry. A newspaper report then named him the best paid local banking executive, with a remuneration of between S$9 million and S$9.25 million in 2006.

At UOB's 65th annual meeting in April 2007, Wee stepped down as the bank's chief executive officer and was succeeded by his eldest son Ee Cheong. He remained as chairman of UOB, which he had grown into Singapore's largest bank by market capitalisation with more than 500 branches and offices in 18 countries.

In 2017, it was announced that Wee will step down from UOB in April 2018 but remained as chairman emeritus and honorary adviser to the board.

As of May 2021, Wee's net worth was estimated at US$9.47 Billion by Bloomberg Billionaires Index, making him one of the richest persons in Singapore.

Personal life Wee had three sons and two daughters.

Affiliations In 1969, Wee was appointed to the Economic Development Board and the Currency Board, and as chairman of the Singapore Science Centre board the following year. He was elected as the first president of the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce (later Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCCI)) in 1971 and served for two separate terms.

He was honorary president at SCCCI.

In 1972, he was head and spokesman of the ASEAN Chambers of Commerce and Industry. Wee also headed the Hokkien Huay Kuan (clan association) from 1972 to 2010, with an initial S$30 million endowment from the Wee family. The charitable foundation focuses on education and welfare for the underprivileged, and also promotes the Chinese language and culture as well as social integration.

Education Wee was the chairman of the joint School Management Committee for Chung Cheng High School (Main), Chung Cheng High School (Yishun) and Nanyang Junior College. He also held chairmanship of Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan.

Recognition In 1971, the Singapore government awarded him the Bintang Bakti Masyarakat (Public Service Star), and he was named Singapore Businessman of the Year in 1990 and 2001.

In 2006, for his contributions to the banking sector, he was presented with the inaugural Credit Suisse-Ernst & Young Lifetime Achievement Award. Wee received an honorary doctorate from the National University of Singapore in July 2008.

In 2009, for his contributions to the banking industry and broader community, Wee was awarded The Asian Banker Lifetime Achievement Award.

In 2011, Forbes listed him as Singapore's wealthiest individual with a net worth of S$4.2 billion. Wee received the Darjah Utama Bakti Cemerlang (Distinguished Service Order) in recognition of his work with the SFCCA and as pro-chancellor of NTU.