Career
His Pacific International Lines, which he founded in 1967, now has fleet of 153 vessels and plans to add 15 more by next year. Subsidiaries include Hong Kong-listed Singamas Container Holdings, which he also chairs. Son Teo Siong Seng, who runs daily operations, is a nominated MP and president of the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry.
Mr Chang’s greatest achievement as the chairman of PIL was to
transform it from a shophouse in Market Street with four coastal
vessels into the 19th largest shipping company in the world.
As a pioneer shipping line that entered the Chinese market in the
1960’s, PIL has a strong presence in China as it accounts for about
35% of the group revenues. Over the years, PIL benefited greatly
from China’s strong economic growth. It currently offers eighteen
container liner sailings a week out of China, as compared to one
sailing a week back in the sixties. PIL’s China network includes ten
fully licensed branch offices and thirteen representative offices. It
jointly owns and operates logistics centers in Ningbo, Shanghai,
Wuxi, and Xiamen.
With his far-sighted visionary in the industry, he guides the company
in looking out opportunities for business co-operations that enable it
to further enhance its services, in particular by expanding its
product range. For instance, the acquisition of a large plot of land
in Qidong in December 2010 for the construction of two container
factories will in fact increase its production capacity to meet the rising container demand in Central and Western China. As such,
this will maintain its competitiveness in the Yangtze Region by
meeting the customers’ quality expectations.
Mr Chang’s sincerity and down-to-earth attitude earned him trust
from customers as well as loyalty from employees.
These testimonials from people in the shipping industry show how
well respected Mr Chang is. He represents a generation of
entrepreneurs who believe in hard work (he works 50 hours a week)
and maintaining good relationships.