Haw Par Corporation

History

Predecessors

The predecessor of Haw Par Corporation, Eng Aun Tong, was founded by Aw Chu Kin, father of Aw Boon Haw 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, 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 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 shares started to trade in the exchange in November 1969.

The listed company made a major disinvestment in 1970, selling Hong Kong Eng Aun Tong building located in Wan Chai Road 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, At the same time Sin Poh (Star News) Amalgamated was privatized by Aw Cheng Chye (), 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 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 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 of Hong Kong in 1961; the last piece of the garden was sold to Cheung Kong 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 and in the London Stock Exchange. 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.,

In April 1972, Haw Par Brothers International made a strategic investment on a property on 302 Orchard Road.

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. 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. 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 驅風油, literally "oil that expels headaches." Earlier medicated oil products, such as Axe Brand Universal Oil translated the oil as "universal oil" (in that the ointment could be used for a wide variety of ailments).

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

References

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44. (3 March 1972). "虎豹兄弟國際公司與香港均隆簽協議購買均隆股票七百萬股從而取得該號之控制權". Nanyang Siang Pau.
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