UOB Kay Hian, similar to UOB, reached the size it is today not merely via organic growth, but following a string of mergers and acquisitions. UOB, for example, took over Chung Khiaw Bank in 1971, Lee Wah Bank in 1973 and most famously, Overseas Union Bank in 2001.
SINGAPORE (Mar 20): While all the brokerages crowd in close proximity at the high-density, high-rise Raffles Place area, UOB Kay Hian has been located off Scotts Road, within its own building just four storeys tall, for the past 14 years. Its main entrance is opposite an exclusive residential area, and rows of foliage line the compound. Unfortunately, the company will soon be moving. The government will not allow the 15year land lease to be extended. “We have a nice, quiet campus feel here. The remisiers, the staff all like it,” says Choo. UOB Kay Hian has already identified a few new locations.
The physical location might move, but business will go on — as it had for the past 50 years.
