Haw Par Corporation Limited is a
Singaporean
Singaporeans are the citizens and nationals of the sovereign island city-state of Singapore. Singapore is home to a people of a variety of ethno-racial-religious origins, with the city-state itself being a multi-racial, multi-cultural, m ...
company involved in healthcare, pharmaceuticals, leisure products, property and investment. It is the company responsible for
Tiger Balm
Tiger Balm () is an analgesic heat rub manufactured and distributed by Singaporean company Haw Par Corporation, Haw Par Healthcare. It is used for external pain relief.
History
A precursor to Tiger Balm called Ban Kin Yu ( zh, t=萬金油, ...
branded
liniment
Liniment (from , meaning "to smear, Anointing, anoint"), also called embrocation and heat rub, is a medicated topical preparation for application to the skin. Some liniments have a viscosity similar to that of water; others are lotion or balm; s ...
(ointment). Its brands also included Kwan Loong and it also owns and operates weekend and leisure time destinations such as
oceanarium
An oceanarium can be either a marine mammal park, such as Marineland of Canada, or a large-scale Public aquarium, aquarium, such as the Lisbon Oceanarium, presenting an ocean habitat with marine (ocean), marine animals, especially large ocean dwe ...
s.
The Haw Par Group owns two oceanariums: the now-defunct
Underwater World Underwater World may refer to:
*Underwater World, Singapore, oceanarium in Singapore
*UnderWater World, Queensland, marine mammal park, oceanarium and wildlife sanctuary in Queensland, Australia
*UnderWater World Guam, oceanarium in Guam
*Kelly Tarl ...
oceanarium attraction at Sentosa, Singapore, and Underwater World Pattaya in Thailand.
History
Predecessors
The predecessor of Haw Par Corporation, Eng Aun Tong, was founded by
Aw Chu Kin
Aw Chu Kin (Chinese: 胡子钦 ? – 1908 in Rangoon, British Burma) was a Burmese Chinese herbalist. He is best known as the original inventor of Tiger Balm.
Aw's father was a Chinese herbology practitioner in Xiamen and a Hakka people, Hakka ...
, father of
Aw Boon Haw
Aw Boon-Haw (; 1882–1954), OBE, was a Chinese entrepreneur and philanthropist best known as founder of Tiger Balm. He was a son of Hakka herbalist Aw Chu-Kin, with his ancestral home in Yongding County, Fujian, China.
Career
Aw was a B ...
and
Boon Par brothers. Eng Aun Tong was then relocated to Singapore and expanded its branch to many Chinese communities in Asia. Aw Boon Haw also built
Haw Par Villas in Hong Kong, Singapore and in
Yongding District, Longyan
Yongding () is a District (China), district under the jurisdiction of Longyan prefecture-level city in the southwest of Fujian Province, People's Republic of China. The district is a center for Hakka culture, including the traditional Hakka ''tulo ...
, China. A private company, Haw Par Brothers (Private) Limited was incorporated in 1932 as a holding company for a vast majority of the family assets.
Establishment, IPO and family dispute
Haw Par Brothers International Limited was incorporated on 18 July 1969 by the Aw family (descendant of the late
Aw Boon Haw
Aw Boon-Haw (; 1882–1954), OBE, was a Chinese entrepreneur and philanthropist best known as founder of Tiger Balm. He was a son of Hakka herbalist Aw Chu-Kin, with his ancestral home in Yongding County, Fujian, China.
Career
Aw was a B ...
and
Boon Par brothers), in order to list most of the assets of Haw Par Brothers (Private) Limited on the Stock Exchange of Malaysia and Singapore.
[ The assets included the brand Eng Aun Tong and Tiger Balm for ]liniment
Liniment (from , meaning "to smear, Anointing, anoint"), also called embrocation and heat rub, is a medicated topical preparation for application to the skin. Some liniments have a viscosity similar to that of water; others are lotion or balm; s ...
products, Sin Poh (Star News) Amalgamated that publishes newspaper in Singapore and Malaysia (assets were split into part of what is now SPH Media
SPH Media Trust (SMT), trading as SPH Media, is a mass media company in Singapore. It was incorporated on 19 July 2021 as a company limited by guarantee, it was a spin off from Singapore Press Holdings as part of a restructuring. It owns sever ...
for Singaporean branch and Media Chinese International
Media Chinese International Limited is a Chinese language media platform targeting Chinese readers in major Chinese communities in southeast Asia. Its headquarters is located in Hong Kong. Tan Sri Datuk Tiong Hiew King is the chairman. It was ...
for Malaysian branch), as well as subsidiaries in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Thailand.[ The company also owned an equity investment in Chung Khiaw Bank (), as well as a lease contract that signed between Haw Par Brothers International and Haw Par Brothers (Private), to use the ]Tiger Balm Garden
Tiger Balm Gardens are public gardens that existed or continue to exist in three East Asia locations. They are also known as Haw Par Villa gardens.
All three Tiger Balm Garden locations were built by the Aw family (Aw Boon Haw and Aw Boon Par). ...
s in Hong Kong and Singapore that were owned by the latter. The shares started to trade in the exchange in November 1969.
The listed company made a major disinvestment
Disinvestment refers to the use of a concerted economic boycott to pressure a government, industry, or company towards a change in policy, or in the case of governments, even regime change. The term was first used in the 1980s, most commonly in ...
in 1970, selling Hong Kong Eng Aun Tong building located in Wan Chai Road
Wan Chai Road ( 灣仔道) is a main road in Wan Chai, on the north side of Hong Kong Island.
Wan Chai Road is a L-shape road which was constructed in 1851 along Morrison Hill from the foot of Hospital Hill (now near the old Wan Chai Market bui ...
for HK$2.8 million, in order to raise fund the Hong Kong subsidiary for other investment. Nevertheless, the actual price was disputed, as the buyer told the press in Hong Kong another figure.[
However, a year after IPO, Aw family sold the controlling stake of the family to ]Slater Walker Slater Walker was a British industrial conglomerate turned bank that got into financial difficulties in the 1970s. It specialised in corporate raids. Its fall shook the British banking system at the time, and it had to be bailed out by the Bank of ...
, At the same time Sin Poh (Star News) Amalgamated was privatized by Aw Cheng Chye
Aw Cheng Chye S.P.M.J., B.B.M., O.St.J (1 January 1924 – 22 August 1971) was a Singaporean millionaire, businessman, company director, philanthropist and son of businessman Aw Boon Par. Aw Cheng Chye himself was the chairman of Haw Par Brot ...
(), eldest son of the late Aw Boon Par. Aw Cheng Chye also bought back some of the shares from Slater Walker. Haw Par Brothers International also sold 49.8% stake of Chung Khiaw Bank to United Overseas Bank
United Overseas Bank Limited (), often known as UOB, is a Singaporean regional bank headquartered at Raffles Place, Singapore, with branches mostly found in Southeast Asia countries.
It is one of the three "big local banks" in the country, t ...
for S$22 million. Aw Cheng Chye was also re-elected as the chairman of Haw Par Brothers International despite the takeover. After the sudden death of Aw Cheng Chye during a trip in Santiago de Chile
Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital city, capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's Chilean Central Valley, central valley and is the center ...
in August 1971, as well as re-election of the board of directors, it was reported that the listed company was chaired by Richard Tarling while Haw Par Brothers (Private) Limited was chaired by Aw It Haw (), the fourth and the first biological son of the late Aw Boon Haw.[
Aw Kow (), the eldest (adopted) son of the late Aw Boon Haw, who resigned as the director of Sin Poh (Star News) Amalgamated and the managing director of '' Sin Chew Jit Poh'' in May 1971] due to his personal investment in ''Eastern Sun'', also sued Haw Par Brothers (Private) Limited in 1972 for blocking him to read its accounts and financial statements, claiming under the late Aw Cheng Chye, the company allowed personal spending of Aw Cheng Chye, was invoiced by the company itself. The lawsuit was settled in 1977, in favour Aw Kow.
In the autobiography '' Escape from Paradise'' by John & May Chu Harding, they also claimed that Aw Cheng Chye's decision to make Haw Par Brothers International public, was against the wish of the part of the Aw family. May Chu Harding, ''née'' Lee, was the great-granddaughter of Aw Boon Par, or granddaughter of Lee Chee Shan and Aw Cheng Hu.[ Lee Chee Shan was the president of Chung Khiaw Bank in 1971.][
Under Aw Cheng Chye as chairman, Haw Par Brothers (Private) also attempted to sell ]Tiger Balm Garden
Tiger Balm Gardens are public gardens that existed or continue to exist in three East Asia locations. They are also known as Haw Par Villa gardens.
All three Tiger Balm Garden locations were built by the Aw family (Aw Boon Haw and Aw Boon Par). ...
of Hong Kong in 1961; the last piece of the garden was sold to Cheung Kong
Cheung Kong (Holdings) Limited, is a multinational conglomerate, based in Hong Kong. It was one of Hong Kong's leading multi-national conglomerates. The company merged with its subsidiary Hutchison Whampoa on 3 June 2015, as part of a ma ...
in 1998 and the main building of the mansion was donated to the Hong Kong Government.
Expansion under Slater Walker
After Haw Par Brothers International was taken over by Slater Walker in June 1971, the new owner changed Haw Par Brothers International from a family-held business into a true business enterprise. Slater Walker also sold 20% stake of Haw Par Brothers International to Slater Walker's associate company Australian Industrial and Mining Corporation (Austim) in November 1971, as well as a second listing of Haw Par Brothers International on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange
The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (, SEHK, also known as Hong Kong Stock Exchange) is a stock exchange based in Hong Kong. It is one of the largest stock exchanges in Asia and the List of major stock exchanges, 9th largest globally by market ...
and in the London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange based in London, England. the total market value of all companies trading on the LSE stood at US$3.42 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Paul's Cath ...
. Austim sold 55% stake of Motor and General Investment Underwriters Holdings Singapore to Haw Par Brothers International in August 1971. It was announced that the Holdings would purchase a Singapore construction company Scott & English () in September 1971.[
In January 1972, after the resignation of both Lee Aik Sim (Lee Santipongchai, ), and his wife Aw Cheng Sin (Suri Santipongchai, ), the daughter of late Aw Boon Par as the directors of Haw Par Brothers (Thailand) the subsidiary was sold in the same month to Jack Chia (). Jack Chia and Haw Par Brothers International also formed a joint venture, which the joint venture have the rights to use "Tiger Balm" brand. In March 1972 Haw Par Brothers International acquired fellow pharmaceutical company in Chinese medicines, Hong Kong listed company Kwan Loong & Co.,][ However, Slater Walker turned the Hong Kong company into an investment vehicle in financial market, which was known as Slater Walker Securities (Hong Kong).
In April 1972, Haw Par Brothers International made a strategic investment on a property on 302 ]Orchard Road
Orchard Road, often known colloquially as simply Orchard, is a major -long road in the Central Area, Singapore, Central Area of Singapore. A famous tourist attraction, it is an upscale shopping area, with numerous internationally renowned de ...
.
In 1973 the company expanded to Japan as well as bought 29% stake of a London-listed company London Tin Corporation. Haw Par Brothers International financed the deal by a proposed recapitalization. The stake was sold in 1976 and the sub-holding company that Haw Par Brothers International established in London, was sold in 1982.
Collapse of Slater Walker
The parent company Slater Walker was collapsed after the secondary banking crisis of 1973–75; the company was bailed out by the Bank of England
The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the Kingdom of England, English Government's banker and debt manager, and still one ...
. For Haw Par Brothers International itself, financial irregularities were exposed, for which former chairman Tarling was jailed for 6 months in 1979. Since 13 December 1978, the company has been chaired by Singaporean banker, Wee Cho Yaw
Wee Cho Yaw (; 10 January 1929 – 3 February 2024) was a Singaporean banker, businessman, investor, and philanthropist. He was chairman emeritus and honorary adviser of United Overseas Bank (UOB), and chairman of the UOL Group.
Wee joined ...
. As of 30 March 2020, Wee, through his family investment vehicle, owns 36.23% of the company's shares.
Subsidiaries, brands and products
Kwan Loong () originated from a different listed company of the same name (Kwan Loong & Co., ), which was acquired in March 1972. It produces medicated oil, specifically , literally "oil that expels headaches."
Gallery
File:89 Neil Road, Singapore - 20121013.jpg, Former Eng Aun Tong in Singapore. Photographed in 2012
File:廈門永安堂 1930年代.jpg, Eng Aun Tong Building in Xiamen, c. 1930s. It was nationalized by the PRC in 1949
File:Eng Aun Tong advertisement 1930s.jpg, 1930s Eng Aun Tong ad
File:Sin Chew Jit Poh 1.JPG, First issue of ''Sin Chew Jit Poh'' in 1929. ''Sin Chew Jit Poh'' was the product of Haw Par Brothers International from 1969 to 1971
Footnotes
References
External links
* {{Official website
1969 establishments in Singapore
Conglomerate companies of Singapore
Companies formerly listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange
Companies listed on the Singapore Exchange
Pharmaceutical companies of Singapore
Aw family
Family-owned companies of Singapore
Singaporean companies established in 1969
Pharmaceutical companies established in 1969