The Forgotten Indonesian Tycoon Whose Name Lives on in Singapore's Streets and Buildings

Oei Tiong Ham, a tycoon born in Semarang, was the owner of one of the world’s largest sugar companies. His firm, Oei Tiong Ham Concern (OTHC), was founded in 1893, building on a business started by his father. Through modernisation, OTHC came to monopolise the sugar market in Java, exporting vast quantities and outperforming many Western companies. At its peak, the conglomerate’s reach extended beyond sugar into warehousing, shipping, and banking, with Oei acquiring a major stake in the predecessor of OCBC Bank.

Facing what he considered extortionate tax demands from the Dutch colonial government, Oei left Semarang permanently in 1920 and settled in Singapore. There, he purchased land and houses that reportedly covered a quarter of the island and became a prominent philanthropist. However, after his death, his business empire crumbled. In 1961, an Indonesian court found OTHC guilty of violating foreign exchange regulations, and the government seized all its remaining domestic assets. These assets were used as the foundation to establish the state-owned plantation company PT Rajawali Nusantara Indonesia (RNI) in 1964, effectively erasing the Oei family’s business presence in Indonesia. While his commercial legacy vanished in his homeland, his name remains immortalised in Singapore at sites such as the Oei Tiong Ham Hall at the National University of Singapore.