Chung On Siew (; 1851 – 25 December 1907) was a Chinese capitalist, inventor and philanthropist. He moved to

British Malaya The term "British Malaya" (; ) loosely describes a set of states on the Malay Peninsula and the island of Singapore that were brought under British Empire, British hegemony or control between the late 18th and the mid-20th century. Unlike the ...

and became a pioneer in the

tin mining Tin mining began early in the Bronze Age, as bronze is a copper-tin alloy. Tin is a relatively rare element in the Earth's crust, with approximately 2 ppm (parts per million), compared to iron with 50,000 ppm. History Tin extraction and use ca ...

, rubber and property development industries. He is noted for the discovery of the hydraulic mining method on his alluvial hill lands and as a wise investor. One of his largest tin mines employed over 400 men. His tin mines were managed by European engineer, A. Hamilton. He has a street named after him in the tin mining town of Ipoh, Perak. He contributed extensively to the development of infrastructure in the town. An

ibis Styles Ibis Styles is a French budget hotel brand owned by Accor. Created in 1980 in Australia with the name All Seasons, the brand was acquired by Accor in 1999 and renamed Ibis Styles in 2011. As of April 2023, Ibis Styles manages 642 hotels in 51 co ...

hotel was constructed on the street after the demolition of his prewar shophouses in 2013. According to Arnold Wright, he was one of the biggest owners with many rubber plantations and tin mines in

South East Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

. Based on the

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

Straits Times, he acquired many other properties in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

and

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

. He retired back to

in 1905 where he died in 1907.The Singapore Straits Times, "''Chung On Siew: A Wealthy Miner and Landowner, Death in China''." National Library of Singapore, 4 June 1908

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chung, On Siew 1851 births 1907 deaths Chinese businesspeople People from British Malaya Qing dynasty people