Wu Xiangchuan

Wu Xiangchuan was a Burmese Chinese entrepreneur.

Biography

Wu was born in 1916 in Burma. His ancestral home was in Jinjiang, Fujian, and his father was Wu Ketao. As a young man, Wu traveled across the sea to study at Ying Wa College in Gulangyu, Xiamen, and later was admitted to Ginling University in Nanjing. After graduation, he returned to Burma.

After the end of World War II, Wu, in the prime of his life, began to emerge as a prominent figure and started to establish his own business in Burma. He initially engaged in the rice trade and served as an agent for various Japanese products, including tires and synthetic fibers. Later, he founded a textile factory and became a leading figure in Burma's post-war industrial and commercial sectors.

In 1953, due to political instability in Burma, Wu moved with his family to Hong Kong. In this new environment, he restarted his business with limited capital by engaging in product distribution and agency operations. Through perseverance, talent, and determination, he expanded his enterprise in just over a decade into fields such as mechanical engineering, shipping, finance, and textiles.

Wu served as the Executive Director of the multinational company Shun Cheong Engineering Co., Ltd. He was one of the founding members of the Hong Kong branch of Nomura International and continued to serve as Managing Director of Nomura Hong Kong into the early 1980s. He was also a co-founder and Chairman of the publicly listed company Buildmore International Limited.

Other major positions held by Wu included Chairman of Hengda Ltd., Chairman of Hengmou Ltd., Chairman of Tailong Ltd., Chairman of Sanlian Industrial Ltd., and Chairman of Overseas Shipping Ltd.

Besides his investments in Hong Kong, Wu also established a textile factory in Thailand to provide employment for staff who had relocated from Burma to Thailand.

Wu served as Director of Tung Wah Group of Hospitals in the Renyin Year (1962) and as Director of Yan Chai Hospital in the Xinyou Year (1971).

He sadly passed away on October 14, 1983, at the age of 67.

Honors

His son, Wu Zhongcan, donated funds to the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals to build a secondary school named "Tung Wah Group of Hospitals Wu Xiangchuan Memorial College" to commemorate his contributions.