Leveraging OCBC’s financial muscle and his vision, Tan moved decisively to acquire several multinational corporations (MNCs), including diversified group Straits Trading Company (STC), Raffles Hotel, retailer Robinson & Co, property conglomerate United Engineers (UEL), as well as beverage giant Fraser and Neave (F&N), which eventually became some of Singapore’s best-known companies.
News of British forces withdrawing from Singapore by 1971 sent shockwaves through the newly independent nation as it had been dependent on the former for military and economic security. Amid the transition and ensuing economic uncertainty, the late Tan Sri Dr Tan Chin Tuan, a legendary Singaporean banker and philanthropist, saw an opportunity.
Tan, who served as chairman of Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp (OCBC) from 1966 to 1983, was fondly known as “Mr OCBC”. He is widely credited with transforming the Singaporean bank from its humble origins into a multinational financial institution, playing a key role in its growth and consolidation through strategic mergers.
