Oei Tiong Ham Concern (Kian Gwan) Archives

Indonesia

Correspondence and other documents on the reorganization and future of the concern 1946-1955; correspondence and other documents on the confiscation of the concern and the appeal against this decision of the Indonesian government 1959-1963 (-1996); report by Oei Tiong Ham Industrial Department of Kian Gwan Co. (Indonesia) on the rehabilitation of sugar factory 'Krebet' 1953; documents on the process by the brothers Oei Tjong and other family members against the Oei Tiong Ham Trust Company N.V. in Semarang, Indonesia at the Arrondissements-Rechtbank in Amsterdam 1958; annual reports and lists of products of N.V. Phapros (Pharmaceutical Processing Industries) in Semarang 1963-1968; auditor reports on PT Rajawali Indonesia and its various subsidiaries 1968; magazine articles on the history of the concern 1963, 1973. Kian Gwan Kong Si, parent company of the Oei Tiong Ham Concern (OTHC) was founded in Semarang, Dutch East Indies by the Chinese entrepreneur Oei Tjie Sien 1863; this initiative was the beginning of a vast trading empire; in 1890, his son Oei Tiong Ham took over the firm Kian Gwan which diversified and grew into one of the largest firms in Southeast Asia; at the time, Oei took over the firm, Kian Gwan's main activity was trade, especially trade in rubber, kapok, gambir, tapioca and coffee; in addition, it was involved with pawnshops, postal services, logging and the highly lucrative opium trade; it has been estimated that between 1890 and 1904, Kian Gwan made a profit of some 18 million guilders in the opium trade alone, which provided the basis for his empire; during the post-war boom of 1918-1920, the worldwide demand for Java sugar was high, creating many opportunities for sugar-mill owners and sugar brokers, but fortunes gained were easily lost in a couple of days; Oei followed a cautious policy during these boom years, he did not speculate too heavily and took steps to improve its financial administration; unlike many of his Chinese contemporaries, Oei relied heavily on written contracts in conducting his business and recruited talented accountants to set up a modern accounting system for the sugar factories; due to the cautious and independent strategy, the company survived the subsequent sugar crisis while many other Chinese firms perished; besides making use of written agreements and a modern accounting system, Oei also diverted from yet another Chinese business practice of the time, instead of relying solely on family members in running his wide ranging business enterprises, he deliberately chose capable outsiders, such as Dutch directors, managers, and engineers to manage his companies; in 1920, Oei left Semarang and settled in Singapore to escape Dutch colonial succession law and tax regime; in 1961, the Indonesian OTHC came to an end, when the Indonesian government's Pengadilan Ekonomi (the court for economic crimes) seized and nationalized all of OTHC's Indonesian assets including its strategic sugar plantations and factories; in 1964, the government formed a holding company named PT Rajawali Nusantara Indonesia to run them, which is still a prominent corporation up to this day; however, many of the Kian Gwan offices abroad managed to survive and became independent companies on its own, each operated by one of sons of Oei Tiong Ham. See on the history of the OTHC also a website on the history of Semarang . See also the article 'Oei Tiong Ham Concern, a major Chinese trading firm' by Bouwe Hijma in: On the Waterfront. Newsletter of the friends of the IISH , no. 35 (2018), p. 8-9.