Sun Mar 09 09:20:00 UTC 2025: **Singapore Banking Dynasty Completes Massive Wealth Transfer**
SINGAPORE (March 6, 2025) – The estate of the late Wee Cho Yaw, patriarch of United Overseas Bank (UOB) and one of Singapore’s most prominent banking figures, has concluded the transfer of its remaining shares to his heirs. This marks the culmination of one of Singapore’s largest wealth transfers in recent decades, involving billions of dollars in assets.
Filings revealed that the estate relinquished control of UOB, Southeast Asia’s third-largest bank, and UOL Group, Singapore’s largest listed developer, over a period of several months. The UOB shares, valued at approximately US$9 billion, were transferred completely. At UOL, the estate’s 38 percent stake, worth about US$1.4 billion, has also been transferred.
While it is unclear how the shares have been distributed among Wee Cho Yaw’s wife, three sons, and two daughters, the family’s holding companies are now wholly owned by them. Wee Ee Cheong, Wee Cho Yaw’s eldest son, remains CEO of UOB.
Wee Cho Yaw, who passed away in February 2024 at age 95, played a pivotal role in expanding UOB from a small bank to a global institution with over 500 branches and offices. His leadership included several key acquisitions, notably the 2001 takeover of Overseas Union Bank. A UOB spokesperson declined to comment on the specifics of the share transfer. The transfer concludes a significant chapter in the history of Singapore’s richest banking dynasty.
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