Lee Seng Wee

Lee Seng Wee, DUBC (simplified Chinese: 李成伟; traditional Chinese: 李成偉; pinyin: Lǐ Chéngwěi; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Lí Sîng-uí; April 4, 1930 – August 7, 2015) was a Singaporean banker and businessman. The third son of the late Lee Kong Chian, he studied engineering at the University of Toronto and also pursued business school. He graduated first in his MBA class from the University of Western Ontario.

He was a director of South East Asia's second-largest bank, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC) from 1967 until 2016, and Chairman from 1998 to 2003. He orchestrated a S$2.4 billion takeover bid for Singapore's then-fifth largest bank, Keppel Capital Holdings in June 2001. In 2003, Lee stepped down as chairman and moved to a non-executive position, but continued to guide the strategic direction of the bank. Major investments and acquisitions during his long tenure include OCBC-NISP in Indonesia, OCBC China Bank, OCBC-Wing Hang in Hong Kong; the private banking business of ING Asia Bank, majority control of Great Eastern Life Insurance Co. and a 20 percent stake in Bank of Ningbo in China. The net profit after tax for OCBC Group was almost S$ 4 billion for 2015.

In addition to his role in OCBC, Lee also served as a board member of the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation and on the Council of Presidential Advisors, Singapore. He was conferred the Distinguished Service Order in 2001. In 2006, together with Lee Kuan Yew, he received the Woodrow Wilson Award in New York for Singapore.

On August 7, 2015, at the age of 85, Lee died of complications arising from a head injury sustained during a fall.^[1]

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