Lee Kong Chian - Career

Career

Seven years later, Lee set up his own rubber smoking house in Muar, Johor, Malaya, which became the Nam Aik Rubber Company in 1928. His enterprises of rubber planting and manufacture, pineapple planting and canning soon expanded to other parts of Southeast Asia, including Singapore, Malaya, North Borneo, Indonesia and Thailand. He was known as "Southeast Asia's Rubber and Pineapple King". He became one of the richest men in the region, with the Lee Rubber Company becoming a multi-million dollar business which he started in 1931.

Lee also went into banking. He became general manager and vice-chairman of Huayi Bank. He was appointed vice-chairman of the corporation when the three Chinese banks merged to form the Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC) in 1933.

In 1934, Lee became the chairperson of The Chinese High School, a post he held until 1957. In 1939, Lee founded a school in his homeland known as Guozhuan Primary School in his hometown of Furong and in 1943, he set up the Guoguang Primary School. Lee also donated his rubber factory to become a Chinese school in Kuala Lumpur which was later renamed SJK(C) Lee Rubber in Jalan Gombak. He gave lectures in Columbia University during World War II while he was stranded in the United States. Lee became Vice-Chancellor of the University of Singapore (now the National University of Singapore) and donated S$1 million for the development of a medical college on the college's grounds. Other institutions received financial support from the Lee Foundation, including the National University of Singapore, Anglo-Chinese School, St. Margaret's Secondary School, Methodist Girls' School, Singapore Chinese Girls' School, Tao Nan School, Anglican High School and The Chinese High School. The Lee Kong Chian School of Business of the Singapore Management University was named in his honour.

Like Tan Kah Kee, Lee poured his wealth into education and other philanthropic work. He set up the Lee Foundation in Singapore in 1952 and in Malaya in 1960. In 1965, the Lee Foundation Limited was established in Hong Kong. Lee spearheaded free public library services for the nation when he donated S$375,000 through the Lee Foundation to allow the Singapore government to build the Old National Library building at Stamford Road.

When charity depended on the rise and fall of fortunes, the Lee Foundation was set up in Singapore in 1952 and in Malaya in 1960. In 1965 the Lee Foundation Ltd. was established in Hong Kong. Between 1952 and 1993 the Foundation donated sums amounting to S$300 million to various causes with no conditions attached.