Chinese Entrepreneurs in Singapore: Paths to Success Essay -- Business

Chinese Entrepreneurs in Singapore: Paths to Success Due to the economic hardships and threat of Japanese invasion in China in the first half of the 20th century, many men left their homeland in search of success and opportunities abroad. One of the places that many of them migrated to was Singapore. This new and foreign place was fraught with obstacles; however, some of these Chinese men eventually achieved great success. The success of these Chinese entrepreneurs in Singapore was not only due to their personal determination, but it was also contingent upon their social ties, and the economic and political conditions. In the following essay, the experiences of Ng Teow Yhee and Chew Choo Keng will be referred to extensively to illustrate the various combinations of complex factors that lead to their success. Firstly, I will begin with a discussion on the motivations and reasons why the men chose to depart from their families in China. Secondly, the necessity of initial social ties in Singapore will be discussed as well as their first work experiences, which helped to shape their perspectives and goals. Thirdly, the effects of the Japanese invasion on the development and viability of Chinese businesses in Singapore will be examined. Fourthly, the great business developments made by the Chinese, post-Japanese occupation, will be discussed. Lastly, I will compare Ng Teow Yhee’s and Chew Choo Keng’s management styles, strategies and beliefs in order to illustrate how their personal characteristics contributed to their achievement of success. The early 20th century was a period when China was wrought with wars and economic uncertainty. As a result, migrants were forced to uproot from their homeland to seek fortunes abroad. Thus, their motivation was fundamentally an economic one—that is, to earn money to survive and remit to their poor families in China as support. In other words, â€Å"the motivation for emigration seemed to arisen more from the push factors caused by China’s poverty and absence of opportunity than from the pull factors then existent in Nanyang†¦.† (Chan & Chiang, 40) Two prime examples of men who sought their livelihoods in Singapore due to their dreadful village conditions were: Ng Teow Yhee and Chew Choo Keng. Ng was forced to leave his home in 1938, at the age of 15, due to the impending Japanese invasion. Du... ...ial ties, and the economic and political conditions. This has been chronologically illustrated using the experiences of Ng Teow Yhee and Chew Choo Keng—from the time they decided to leave China, to their first jobs in Singapore, to the Japanese Occupation years, into the post-occupation period. It can be seen that their childhood experiences and the life experiences they gained along the way helped them to succeed by providing them with a strong knowledge base upon which to develop their businesses. Although these were prime examples of those who did succeed, it must be noted that there were many with the same determination that did not. Success is dependant on the combination of a number of complex factors. As such, success could not be guaranteed to all those who were innovative and risk-taking because they are not sufficient preconditions for successful entrepreneurship. (Chan & Chiang, 35) Bibliography Chan Kwok Bun & Claire Chiang. Stepping Out: The Making of Chinese Entrepreneurs. Singapore: Prentice Hall, 1994. Chew, Ernest and Edwin Lee. â€Å"Chapter 6: The Syonan Years, 1942-1945.† A History of Singapore. Singapore: Oxford University Press, 1996.