Chinese Entrepreneurs in Singapore: Paths to Success
Due to the economic hardships and threat of Japanese invasion in China
in the first half of the 20th century, many men left their homeland in
search of success and opportunities abroad. One of the places that
many of them migrated to was Singapore. This new and foreign place
was fraught with obstacles; however, some of these Chinese men
eventually achieved great success. The success of these Chinese
entrepreneurs in Singapore was not only due to their personal
determination, but it was also contingent upon their social ties, and
the economic and political conditions. In the following essay, the
experiences of Ng Teow Yhee and Chew Choo Keng will be referred to
extensively to illustrate the various combinations of complex factors
that lead to their success. Firstly, I will begin with a discussion
on the motivations and reasons why the men chose to depart from their
families in China. Secondly, the necessity of initial social ties in
Singapore will be discussed as well as their first work experiences,
which helped to shape their perspectives and goals. Thirdly, the
effects of the Japanese invasion on the development and viability of
Chinese businesses in Singapore will be examined. Fourthly, the great
business developments made by the Chinese, post-Japanese occupation,
will be discussed. Lastly, I will compare Ng Teow Yhee’s and Chew
Choo Keng’s management styles, strategies and beliefs in order to
illustrate how their personal characteristics contributed to their
achievement of success.
The early 20th century was a period when China was wrought with wars
and economic uncertainty. As a result, migrants were forced to uproot
from their homeland to seek fortunes abroad. Thus, their motivation
was fundamentally an economic one—that is, to earn money to survive
and remit to their poor families in China as support. In other words,
“the motivation for emigration seemed to arisen more from the push
factors caused by China’s poverty and absence of opportunity than from
the pull factors then existent in Nanyang….” (Chan & Chiang, 40) Two
prime examples of men who sought their livelihoods in Singapore due to
their dreadful village conditions were: Ng Teow Yhee and Chew Choo
Keng. Ng was forced to leave his home in 1938, at the age of 15, due
to the impending Japanese invasion. Du...
... middle of paper ...
...ial ties, and
the economic and political conditions. This has been chronologically
illustrated using the experiences of Ng Teow Yhee and Chew Choo
Keng—from the time they decided to leave China, to their first jobs in
Singapore, to the Japanese Occupation years, into the post-occupation
period. It can be seen that their childhood experiences and the life
experiences they gained along the way helped them to succeed by
providing them with a strong knowledge base upon which to develop
their businesses. Although these were prime examples of those who did
succeed, it must be noted that there were many with the same
determination that did not. Success is dependant on the combination
of a number of complex factors. As such, success could not be
guaranteed to all those who were innovative and risk-taking because
they are not sufficient preconditions for successful entrepreneurship.
(Chan & Chiang, 35)
Bibliography
Chan Kwok Bun & Claire Chiang. Stepping Out: The Making of Chinese
Entrepreneurs.
Singapore: Prentice Hall, 1994.
Chew, Ernest and Edwin Lee. “Chapter 6: The Syonan Years, 1942-1945.”
A History of
Singapore. Singapore: Oxford University Press, 1996.
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