Singaporean banker named ASEAN Businessman of the Year
Singaporean banker named ASEAN Businessman of the Year
SINGAPORE (AFP): Singapore banker Wee Chao Yaw has been named
the ASEAN Businessman of the Year by the ASEAN Business Forum, a
coalition of industry leaders from the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations.
Wee, chairman of the United Overseas Bank (UOB) group,
received the award from Deputy Premier Lee Hsien Loong at the
forum's fourth annual awards ceremony here Friday night.
"Since joining the bank first as director, then as managing
director and subsequently as chairman, he has been primarily
responsible for the UOB's expansion to what it is today," the
award citation read.
The banking group has 80 local branches and 59 overseas
branches and offices and is also engaged in property development,
hotel management, pharmaceuticals and the leisure industry.
Wee was among 11 individuals from ASEAN honored under the
business forum's annual achievement awards program.
Aditya Indradjaja received the architecture award for his
contribution to designing low-cost housing in Indonesia.
Ibnu Sutowo, former president of Indonesia's state oil company
Pertamina, received an award for community service, while Salleh
Mohammed Nor received the environment protection award for his
work on rainforest conservation as head of Malaysia's Forest
Research Institute.
Syed Jalaluddin of Malaysia received the sciences award for
his work in animal nutrition and microbiology and Lucrecia
Kasilag of the Philippines was honored for her contribution to
the performing arts by developing Filipino music.
Two Singaporeans, A Vijiaratnam (engineering), whose company
specializes in maritime works and has been involved in
reclamation work for ports and airports, and Jacob Phang
(research and development), whose work focuses on developing
diagnostic systems for the semiconductor industry, were also
honored.
Other award winners were Napoleon Abueva (visual arts), a
modernist sculptor from the Philippines, Nara Vaeusorn
(medicine), a leading Thai physician, and Ratapong Sirisanont
(sports), a top Thai swimmer.