Hwa Hong Corporation

Investment governance sits with the Ong family's inner circle. Ong Eng Yaw, formerly acting Managing Director of the listed entity and now Managing Director of Shorea Capital, is the most visible family executive on transactions. The privatization consortium included Dymon Asia Private Equity as a professional partner, suggesting external institutional input on deal structuring alongside family principals.

Hwa Hong is now a privately held corporation controlled by the Ong family through their holding vehicle, Ely Investments Pte. Ltd. The 2024 delisting removed SGX disclosure obligations and quarterly reporting requirements, effectively transforming it into a permanent-capital family office with legacy operating assets and a concentrated property portfolio.

The portfolio is split between Singapore and London. Known holdings include 110 Paya Lebar Road and Scotts Spazio in Singapore, plus Allen House (Kensington), 20 Midtown (Holborn), 20 Garrett Street (Clerkenwell), and residential assets on Queen's Gate and Hornton Street in London. These are predominantly commercial and prime residential freehold or long-leasehold interests.

The Ong family's wealth originated with Ong Chay Tong's trading and insurance businesses founded in 1947. His son Ong Choo Eng expanded the group into edible-oil manufacturing, self-storage, and commercial real estate across Singapore, the UK, and Malaysia over several decades of public listing before the family opted to take the entity private.

Shorea Capital is a Singapore-based fund management firm led by Ong Eng Yaw, the son of patriarch Ong Choo Eng. It operates the Shorea Capital London Office Fund, which partners with the family's direct UK property interests. The firm serves as the institutional fund-management arm adjacent to the family's proprietary balance-sheet investing.

The privatization itself was executed through a consortium that included Dymon Asia Private Equity and other co-investors — a clear signal the family is willing to partner with external institutional capital on significant transactions. However, the privatized entity's day-to-day investment activity appears to deploy proprietary capital rather than third-party fund commitments.

Publicly documented philanthropic activity is minimal, though the family's historical association with the Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan places it within Singapore's clan-based charitable network. The clan association runs schools, cultural programs, and community welfare initiatives; Ong Choo Eng served on its management committee during his tenure.