Hsuan Owyang

In this Chinese name, the family name is Owyang.
Hsuan Owyang
PJG
Chairman of the Housing and Development Board
In office
1 August 1983 (1983-08-01) – 1 October 1998 (1998-10-01)
Preceded byMichael Fam
Succeeded byNgiam Tong Dow
Personal details
Born(1928-03-24)24 March 1928
Guangzhou, China
Died23 August 2018(2018-08-23) (aged 90)
San Diego, California
SpouseJune Tong (m. 1967)
Children2
Alma materHarvard Business School (MBA)
University of Dubuque (BSc)
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese歐陽壎
Simplified Chinese欧阳壎
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinŌuyáng Xūn
IPA[óʊ.jǎŋ.ɕwə́n]

Hsuan Owyang PJG (24 March 1928 – 23 August 2018) was a Singaporean stockbroker and former chairman of the Housing and Development Board from 1983 to 1998.

Early life and education

On 24 March 1928, Owyang was born in Guangzhou, China. His father, Chi Owyang, worked as a banker for the Industrial and Commercial Bank in Wuhan, before being promoted to assistant general manager of its branch in Guangzhou.[1][2][3] Owyang was the eldest son, and he had five brothers and a sister.[4]

Owyang received his secondary education in Chongqing, China.[5]

In 1946, Owyang started his undergraduate studies at Lingnan University. From 1947 to 1948, he studied at the St. John's University, Shanghai. In 1949, Owyang moved to the United States and enrolled in the University of Dubuque. In 1950, Owyang graduated with a Bachelor of Science in business administration.[2] Later, he enrolled in Harvard Business School and graduated in 1952 with a Master of Business Administration.[6][7]

Career

In 1952, Owyang joined Thomson & McKinnon, an investment and brokerage company in New York City, as a investment counsellor. He remained at the company for 12 years. In December 1964, upon returning to Singapore, Owyang joined the Overseas Union Bank (OUB) as an assistant to the general manager.[8][9] Owyang was promoted to general manager and concurrently served as a director of the bank.[10][11]

During a seminar titled "Changing Trends in the Management of Banks" held in 1977, Owyang said that internationalisation of banking activities will continue to intensify, and computerisation will make significant contribution to banks.[12][13]

In September 1982, Owyang was one of the six founding directors for the bank's wholly-owned subsidiary in Toronto, Canada.[14][15][a] In October 1982, to manage the international operations of OUB, he was appointed to be director of its international division.[16][17]

On 1 February 1983, Owyang resigned from OUB to join the Post Office Savings Bank (POSB) its deputy chairman and chief executive officer.[18][19][20] On 1 August 1983, Owyang took over Michael Fam as chairman of the Housing and Development Board (HDB), after the latter became chairman at the newly-formed Mass Rapid Transit Corporation.[21][22][23]

In April 1985, Owyang was appointed as deputy chairman of the Network for Electronic Transfers, serving alongside chairman Allan Ng.[24] Owyang was promoted to chairman in April 1986.[25] In February 1988, at the end of the a five-year contract, Owyang left POSB.[26][27] In September 1989, Owyang was appointed as chairman of the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS), succeeding Yong Pung How.[28][29]

In February 1995, Owyang, alongside with Herman Hochstadt and Tang I-Fang, was appointed as a pro-chancellor for the Nanyang Technological University.[30] On 1 October 1998, Owyang relinquished his chairmanship of HDB to Ngiam Tong Dow.[31][32] On 18 April 2000, Owyang took over Han Cheng Fong as chairman of DBS Land.[33][34]

After 15 years at IPS, Owyang stepped down as chairman in July 2004, and he was succeeded by Tommy Koh.[35][36]

Personal life

On 31 May 1967, Owyang married June Tong and they held their wedding in the auditorium of the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce.[2][37] They had a daughter and a son.[38]

Upon retirement in 2008, he moved to San Diego, California, to be closer to his family. Owyang died on 23 August 2018.[38]

Bibliography

  • Owyang, Hsuan (1996). The Barefoot Boy from Songwad: The Life of Chi Owyang. Singapore: Times Editions. ISBN 978-9812-04-691-8.
  • Owyang, Hsuan (1998). From Wall Street to Bukit Merah: Strategies of a Corporate Leader. Singapore: Times Books International. ISBN 978-9812-04-969-8.

Awards and decorations

Notes

  1. ^ Namely, Lien Ying Chow, Lee Hee Seng, Loo Heng Sun, Koh Choon Liat, and Low Beng Bak.[14][15]

References

  1. ^ Owyang, Hsuan (1996). The Barefoot Boy from Songwad: The Life of Chi Owyang. Singapore: Times Editions. ISBN 978-9812-04-691-8.
  2. ^ a b c Owyang, Hsuan (1998). From Wall Street to Bukit Merah: Strategies of a Corporate Leader. Singapore: Times Books International. ISBN 978-9812-04-969-8.
  3. ^ "Praise for Owyang". The Straits Times. 9 September 1983. p. 10. Retrieved 26 April 2025.
  4. ^ Alfred, Hedwig (9 September 1983). "A true son of Singapore". The Straits Times. p. 48. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
  5. ^ Soh, Tiang Keng (3 August 1987). "A Confucian mind with a Bostonian spirit". The Business Times. p. 2. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
  6. ^ "Harvard MBA helped me a lot in my career – HDB chairman". The Straits Times. 2 January 1988. p. 16. Retrieved 29 April 2025.
  7. ^ Ho, Chin Beng (4 September 1986). "A Harvard legacy". The Straits Times. p. 17. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
  8. ^ "Hsuan Owyang leaves POSB after serving five-year term". The Straits Times. 11 February 1988. p. 25. Retrieved 29 April 2025.
  9. ^ Soh, Tiang Keng (11 February 1988). "Owyang retires as POSB's deputy chairman". The Business Times. p. 7. Retrieved 29 April 2025.
  10. ^ "OVERSEAS UNION BANK LIMITED 25TH ANNIVERSARY 1949-1974". The Straits Times. 5 February 1974. p. 6. Retrieved 29 April 2025.
  11. ^ "Thailand to take over banking seat". The Business Times. 15 June 1977. p. 12. Retrieved 29 April 2025.
  12. ^ Lee, Yew Meng (29 October 1977). "Banking growths 5 ways into 80s". New Nation. p. 13. Retrieved 29 April 2025.
  13. ^ "Tomorrow's financial scenario—banker". The Business Times. 28 October 1977. p. 1. Retrieved 29 April 2025.
  14. ^ a b "OUB opens subsidiary in Toronto". The Business Times. 6 September 1982. p. 16. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
  15. ^ a b "OUB in Canada". The Straits Times. 6 September 1982. p. 17. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
  16. ^ Hobson, Rodney (1 October 1982). "OUB REVAMP". New Nation. p. 14. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
  17. ^ "Overseas Union Bank restructures its operations". The Straits Times. 2 October 1982. p. 19. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
  18. ^ "Hsuan Owyang resigns". The Straits Times. 28 January 1983. p. 5. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
  19. ^ Hsung, Bee Hwa; Chew, Lillian (4 January 1983). "POSB to offer full banking services". The Straits Times. p. 1. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
  20. ^ Chooi, Bernadette (4 January 1983). "POSB to operate as a full bank". The Business Times. p. 1. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
  21. ^ "Michael Fam to be MRT chairman". The Business Times. 30 April 1983. p. 1. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
  22. ^ "New HDB chairman". The Business Times. 29 July 1983. p. 1. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
  23. ^ "Owyang dilantik pengerusi baru HDB" [Owyang appointed as new HDB chairman]. Berita Harian (in Malay). 29 July 1983. p. 10. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
  24. ^ "Allan Ng is Nets chairman". The Straits Times. p. 24. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
  25. ^ "POSB heads Nets board, executive committee". The Business Times. 5 April 1986. p. 2. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
  26. ^ "Hsuan Owyang leaves POSB after serving five-year term". The Straits Times. 11 February 1988. p. 25. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
  27. ^ Soh, Tiang Keng (11 February 1988). "Owyang retires as POSB's deputy chairman". The Business Times. p. 7. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
  28. ^ "Hsuan Owyang to head policy studies board". The Straits Times. 15 September 1989. p. 29. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
  29. ^ "New chief for think tank". The Business Times. 15 September 1989. p. 2. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
  30. ^ "NTU gets three more Pro-Chancellors for growing needs". The Straits Times. 2 March 1995. p. 2. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
  31. ^ "HDB chairman to retire next month". The Straits Times. 10 September 1998. p. 25. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
  32. ^ "Hsuan Owyang retires as HDB chairman from Oct". The Business Times. 10 September 1998. p. 4. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
  33. ^ Lor, Suki (18 April 2000). "Han Cheng Fong leaves DBS Land". The Straits Times. p. 62. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
  34. ^ Rashiwala, Kalpana (18 April 2000). "Han Cheng Fong leaves DBS Land after 11 years". The Business Times. p. 1. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
  35. ^ Lee, Ching Wern (7 May 2004). "IPS board chairman to step down in July". Today. p. 8. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
  36. ^ Buenas, Daniel (7 May 2004). "Tommy Koh to take over as IPS chairman in Aug". The Business Times. p. 11. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
  37. ^ "SINGAPORE WEDDING". Eastern Sun. 1 June 1967. p. 5. Retrieved 26 April 2025.
  38. ^ a b Au-Yong, Rachel; Ng, Charmaine (31 August 2018). "Former HDB chairman Hsuan Owyang dies in California, aged 90". The Straits Times. Retrieved 29 April 2025.
  39. ^ Henson, Bertha; Wang, Hui Ling (9 August 1993). "HDB chief, retired judge in N-Day awards list". The Straits Times. p. 1. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
  40. ^ Chiang, Yin Pheng (6 November 1993). "Two get Meritorious Service Medal". The Straits Times. p. 1. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
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