Sheng Siong: From pig farmer's sons to supermarket empire bosses
Lim Hock Chee and his wife used to sell chilled pork at a rented stall in a grocery store. Now, after more than 35 years, his family members operate 61 supermarkets across Singapore and have joined the ranks of billionaires.
Shares of their Singapore-listed Sheng Siong Group rose to a record on Wednesday (April 15) as supermarkets have become the preferred place to shop after the Government imposed a partial lockdown to contain the coronavirus pandemic. The stock has rallied more than 30 per cent since a March 19 closing low.
The family's combined fortune, based on its 57 per cent stake in the supermarket chain held mainly by Mr Lim and his two brothers, has surged to US$1.1 billion (S$1.57 billion), according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Prime: From pig farmers to supermarket empire
Three Generations Of Pig Farmers
If you get your groceries from a neighbourhood centre, you would have shopped at Prime Supermarket. The company has 20 outlets spread across the island nestled in neighbourhood areas, making it the largest family-owned supermarket chain in Singapore. You may even have heard about the Tan family who owns Prime, because they’re famously known for being the household of 80 members, spanning 5 generations under one roof. Their uncommon living arrangement has garnered the attention of the media, seeing the family and their 32-room mansion featured in the news and on television.
In this interview, the Tan family said they had always lived communally, as they were brought up to stay together and look out for one another. Their journey in Singapore goes all the way back to 1913, when Tan Yang Zhui migrated from Santou, Guangdong with three sons. He was 27 then. The small family grew vegetables for years, until they started pig farming with a pair of piglets in 1928. Eventually, it was named Tan Chye Huat Farm when one of Yang Zhui’s sons, Ah Chye, took over the business after his father’s passing.
Ah Chye and his two brothers, along with their wives and children, moved in together to live as one household. Most of their children got involved to work on the pig farm too. From time to time, the farm was plagued with issues like floods or government redevelopment plans, and they found themselves having to move from Geylang to Changi, Ang Sar Lee, and finally Punggol. However, that came to an end in 1984, when the Singapore government executed a complete phasing out of pig farming.
From pig farmers' son to owning $1m Bentley
The Gold Guarantee founder & CEO Lee Song Teck left Singapore on Jan 18, 2013, and was arrested on Feb 2, 2023, when he returned. The Straits Times
The son of pig farmers, Lee took over his family's animal pharmaceutical business when he was 20. "I am an only child, and I lived on a pig farm until I was eight," he told The Straits Times in 2012. "Our farm seemed huge, but we were one of the few poor pig farmers at the time. My father set up the animal pharmaceutical wholesale business while running the farm, and my mother helped him with the accounts. "However, we were quite poor until about 10 years ago because my father, who died when I was 17, was a gambler. My parents used to tell me I must never gamble."
At age 22, he went to Sydney for undergraduate studies. After his return to Singapore, he tried his hand at being a property agent, and running a fitness centre and a property investment seminar business. He also invested in property and gold. "I believe in only real estate and gold, which I can see and touch, and which have real value. My gold investment portfolio is now worth $30 million," Lee said in the ST interview. "I have achieved average returns of 200 per cent a year from my property investments and some of my businesses. I plan to achieve a net worth of $200 million. When that happens, I intend to pledge 90 per cent to charity." He added: "I do not smoke, drink or gamble, and I am not into fine dining. The only luxury items I spend on are spa packages for me and my friends. I also buy presents for my friends. It feels nice to be able to buy things for the people I love." Lee said his greatest extravagance was his new $1 million Bentley Supersports, which was his "dream car". He also drove a white BMW 5 series model. His company The Gold Guarantee was incorporated in 2011.
