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Wong Yip Yan

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Wong Yip Yan
Born1946 (age 77–78)[1]
Other namesY.Y. Wong
CitizenshipSingapore
OrganizationWywy Group of Companies
SpouseGeok Choo[2]

Wong Yip Yan (Chinese: 黄业仁; pinyin: Wáng Yèren), also known as Y.Y. Wong, is a Singaporean Chinese businessman, and founder of the Wywy Group of Companies.[1][3][4] According to Businessweek, the Wywy Group controlled 76 companies and had annual sales of over $900 million.[1]

Career

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When Wong was 26, he became the first Singaporean director at Borneo Company Limited, a British trading company. Wong said his boss told him that a Chinese couldn't get promoted to the company's main board of directors, causing Wong to start his own business.[1]

To start the Wywy Group, Wong got funding from executives of Fujifilm, who had worked with Wong at Borneo. They helped him get a credit line of $178,000 from The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, which allowed him to start the Wywy Group as a distributor of copy machines.[1]

Wong was the chairman of Yeo Hiap Seng, Singapore's largest drink manufacturer.[5]

Family

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Wong is married and has three grown children.[2] Wong's oldest son, Dr. Wong Meng Ee, contracted retinitis pigmentosa when he was 11 years old.[1] The condition resulted in permanent blindness. Dr. Wong Meng Ee is currently the president of the Retinitis Pigmentosa Society Singapore.[6]

Wong is the brother of Wong Yip Chong and uncle of Wong Meng Cheong. Meng Cheong is a prominent Singaporean physician who famously took his father's mistress to court over his $7 million house after his passing. He ultimately lost his case against his father's mistress.[7]

Education

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Wong is an alumnus of the Harvard Business School.[2]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f "Y.Y. Wong Owns 76 Companies And He's Still Hungry". Bloomberg BusinessWeek. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
  2. ^ a b c "Directors". The International Forum. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  3. ^ "Company Overview of Wywy Group of Companies". Bloomberg BusinessWeek. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
  4. ^ "Dr Yip-Yan Wong". Wolfson College. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
  5. ^ "TEA FOR TWO". Asiaweek. Archived from the original on 6 February 2009. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
  6. ^ "About Us". Retinitis Pigmentosa Society Singapore. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
  7. ^ "Sons lose $7 million house to father's mistress". Asia One. Retrieved 17 April 2014.