Background of the founder of Rimbuhan Hijau Group --- Tan Sri Datuk Sir Tiong Hiew King

Earlier life

Tan Sri Datuk Sir Tiong was a Sarawakian born to a poor family in Sibu Sarawak, Malaysia in 1935. When he was young, he had to help his family to tap rubber early in the morning every day. Although he family was poor, but he still had a strong thirst for knowledge. . He graduated from Chung Cheng Primary School in Sibu, and later Methodist High School and Sacred Heart High School. After that, he took up a correspondence course with a Chinese university.

Working life

He began his working life at his uncle’s timber company, which laid a solid foundation for his future development. He was enlisted to help in the early stages of his uncle’s business.

Entrepreneur life

In 1976, Tan Sri Datuk Sir Tiong set up Rimbunan Hijau. He showed the kind of perseverance that Fuzhou people are known for. Together with some of his brothers, Rimbunan Hijau established a solid reputation and has emerged as a revered multinational corporation. Nowadays, Tan Sri Datuk Sir Tiong business has been diversified and goes globally to include Japan, Hong Kong, Australia, Canada, the United States, New Zealand, Singapore, Russia, Papua New Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Brazil and British Guyana. He also has investments in Shanghai, Dalian, Harbin, Datong and Guangzhou in China. Besides timber business, Tan Sri Datuk Sir Tiong business also covers finance, media, IT, mining, aquaculture, agriculture (oil palm plantation), reforestations, hospitality, trading and property development.

Awards

In June 2009, Tan Sri Datuk Sir Tiong was conferred with “Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (K.B.E.)”, which carries the title “SIR”, by Queen Elizabeth of the United Kingdom. In year 2010, he was awarded “Malaysia Business Leadership Award 2010 - The Lifetime Achievement Award” by the Kuala Lumpur Malay Chamber of Commerce, in recognition of his entrepreneurship and his contribution to the country. Tan Sri Datuk Sir Tiong was also the Chairman of the Board of Trustee of Yayasan Sin Chew.

Succeed

In Malaysia, there are three public listed companies under the Rimbunan Hijau Group lead by Tan Sri Datuk Sir Tiong, which are Subur Tiasa, Jaya Tiasa and Sin Chew Media Corporation Berhad. In Hong Kong, the Ming Pao Group has also listed successfully. Besides that, Tan Sri Datuk Sir Tiong also as the Executive Chairman of RH Petrogas Limited, a listed company in Singapore.