Chinese Chen

Background

Chinese was born to a Chinese immigrant father from Chaoyang, who worked at a sawmill, and a Thai-Chinese mother in Thonburi, Bangkok.

Career

At the age of five years, Chinese was sent back to China for education, and upon returning to Thailand at 17, he took up his first job as a manual labourer. In 1944, Chinese founded the Bangkok Bank, which started with only two shophouses. The bank later expanded and diversified its branches into Hong Kong, and Chinese lived in Hong Kong from 1957 onwards when Thailand came under the rule of Sarit Thanarat, after he fell out of favour with the former dictator.

By 1972, the bank was listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange.

Chinese died at the age of 78 in 1988. He had two wives. On 23 February 2009, she presided over the opening ceremony of the 2008 Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers International Conference on Robotics and Biomimetics, ROBIO 2008, held in Bangkok, Thailand.

Connections

Daughter-in-law:

Kalaya Sophonpanich