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

Chinese Entrepreneurs in capital of Singapore Paths to SuccessDue to the economical hardships and holy terror of Japanese invasion in Chinain the first half of the twentieth century, many men left their homeland insearch of conquest and opportunities abroad. One of the places thatmany of them migrated to was Singapore. This new and foreign placewas fraught with obstacles however, some of these Chinese meneventually achieved great success. The success of these Chineseentrepreneurs in Singapore was not only due to their personaldetermination, but it was also contingent upon their social ties, andthe economic and political conditions. In the following essay, theexperiences of Ng Teow Yhee and Chew Choo Keng will be referred toextensively to illustrate the various combinations of complex factorsthat lead to their success. Firstly, I will begin with a discussionon the motivations and reasons why the men chose to set out from theirfamilies in China. Secondly, the necessity of initial s ocial ties inSingapore will be discussed as well as their first work experiences,which helped to shape their perspectives and goals. Thirdly, the set up of the Japanese invasion on the development and viability ofChinese businesses in Singapore will be examined. Fourthly, the greatbusiness developments made by the Chinese, post-Japanese occupation,will be discussed. Lastly, I will compare Ng Teow Yhees and ChewChoo Kengs management styles, strategies and beliefs in order toillustrate how their personal characteristics contributed to theirachievement of success.The early 20th century was a period when China was wrought with warsand economic uncertainty. As a result, migrants were forced to uprootfrom their homeland to seek fortunes abroad. Thus, their motivationwas fundamentally an economic onethat is, to earn money to surviveand remit to their poor families in China as support. In other words,the motivation for emigration seemed to arisen more from the urge onfactors caused by Chin as poverty and absence of opportunity than fromthe pull factors then existent in Nanyang. (Chan & Chiang, 40) Twoprime examples of men who sought their livelihoods in Singapore due totheir dreadful village conditions were Ng Teow Yhee and Chew ChooKeng. Ng was forced to leave his home in 1938, at the age of 15, dueto the impend Japanese invasion. Du... ...ial ties, andthe economic and political conditions. This has been chronologicallyillustrated using the experiences of Ng Teow Yhee and Chew ChooKengfrom the time they decided to leave China, to their first jobs inSingapore, to the Japanese Occupation years, into the post-occupationperiod. It quite a little be seen that their childhood experiences and the lifeexperiences they gained along the way helped them to succeed byproviding them with a strong knowledge base upon which to developtheir businesses. Although these were prime examples of those who didsucceed, it must be noted that there were many with the samedetermination that did not. Success is dependant on the combinationof a number of complex factors. As such, success could not beguaranteed to all those who were innovative and risk-taking becausethey are not sufficient preconditions for successful entrepreneurship.(Chan & Chiang, 35)BibliographyChan Kwok Bun & Claire Chiang. Stepping Out The Making of ChineseEntrepreneurs.Singapore Prentice Hall, 1994.Chew, Ernest and Edwin Lee. Chapter 6 The Syonan Years, 1942-1945.A History ofSingapore. Singapore Oxford University Press, 1996.