Singapore property tycoon Ng Teng Fong dies

[mr funny]

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stori...034717/1/.html

Singapore property tycoon Ng Teng Fong dies

Posted: 02 February 2010 1156 hrs


SINGAPORE: Singapore billionaire property tycoon Ng Teng Fong has died.

Family friends have confirmed that the 81-year-old tycoon died on Tuesday.

Mr Ng and his family owns Singapore property developer Far East Organization and Hong Kong's Sino Group.

He was ranked Singapore's richest man in 2009 by Forbes magazine. His family net worth was estimated at US$8 billion in 2009, according to Forbes.

Mr Ng was said to have made his fortune on the property market, and owned at least a quarter of Singapore's housing market.

Far East Organisation developed more than 700 hotels, malls and condominiums in Singapore and Hong Kong, and owns Singapore's Fullerton Hotel.

Mr Ng was also one of Hong Kong's largest real estate developers. He was known for his frugal lifestyle, and till his death, still lived in his home of 30 years, off Dunearn Road.

Mr Ng had six children. His older son, Robert, and younger son, Philip, are in charge of the Hong Kong and Singapore businesses, respectively.

- CNA/sc

[mr funny]

http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking...ry_485355.html

Feb 2, 2010

Ng Teng Fong dies

By Joyce Teo


Worth US$8 billion in total, Ng was Singapore's richest man, according to the 2009 Forbes Asia Singapore Rich list. -- ST PHOTO: STEPHANIE YEOW

SINGAPORE'S richest man, property magnate Ng Teng Fong died early on Tuesday morning.

The 81-year-old started the privately-held Far East Organisation as well as the Hong Kong-listed Sino Group.

Worth US$8 billion in total, he was Singapore's richest man, according to the 2009 Forbes Asia Singapore Rich list.

[xebay11]

RIP sadly your life was less than 99 Yrs.

[mr funny]

http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking...ry_485355.html

Feb 2, 2010

Tycoon Ng Teng Fong dies

By Joyce Teo


SINGAPORE'S richest man, property magnate Ng Teng Fong died early on Tuesday morning after suffering a cerebral haemorrhage 10 days ago.

A statement from Far East Organisation said that Mr Ng was taken to hospital on Jan 23 where he underwent an operation.

The low-profile, self-made billionaire, who founded privately-held Far East Organisation and the Hong Kong-listed Sino Group, was listed as Singapore's richest man in the Forbes Asia Singapore Rich for the last three successive years, with a net worth of US$8 billion (S$11.3 billion).

He developed more than 700 hotels, commercial malls and private condominiums in Singapore and Hong Kong. His company also controls Singapore-listed food and drinks maker Yeo Hiap Seng, and his best known properties in Singapore include The Fullerton and Orchard Parade Hotel.

Despite his fortune, he led a frugal and unostentatious lifestyle. Although he controlled at least a quarter of Singapore's housing market, Mr Ng lived in the same house in Watten Estate, off Bukit Timah Road, for over 30 years in, and was knwo to even bring his own lunch on airplanes.

Ng is survived by six children. His oldest son, Robert Ng Chee Siong, built up the real estate business in Hong Kong under the direction of his father and was known to be one of the most aggressive bidders at Hong Kong land auctions in the 1990s. Robert is currently the chairman of Sino Land Group, a position he has held since 1981. Ng's second son, Philip, is in charge of the Singapore businesses.

The wake for Mr Ng will be held from Tuesday evening at Ng's Mansion, 2 Watten Estate. A nightly service will be held at 8pm. The funeral will take place on Saturday.

[cheerful]

RIP sadly your life was less than 99 Yrs.

Well, he might have already passed on .. but his legacy lives on (for his future generations).

[proud owner]

Well, he might have already passed on .. but his legacy lives on (for his future generations).

indeed a very smart and caring man ... to his family

The Shore , LH on a FH land ...will ensure that his children and their children and their ...and their .... are well taken care of ... thanks to all who bought The Shore ...

[Reporter]

Obituary: NG Teng Fong
Property was always on his mind
Industry veterans recall his drive and industrious streak
The Business Times
Wednesday, 3 February 2010


In tribute: Wreaths at the late Mr Ng's residence in Watten Estate yesterday. The tycoon rose from humble beginnings to build his Far East Organization into the biggest private property developer in Singapore today.

The late Ng Teng Fong, billed as Singapore's richest man by Forbes Asia magazine last September, rose from humble beginnings.

He was just 6 years old when his family migrated to Singapore from Putian, a village in China's Fujian province. His father set up a soya sauce factory and had a grocery shop in the Jalan Besar area stocking dried goods, preserved and specialty foods from their village.

Mr Ng was inducted at a young age to help out in the family business and did not acquire much formal education in Singapore, according to a short biography of the property tycoon released yesterday by his Singapore-based Far East Organization.

As the eldest of 11 children in the family, expectations were high that Mr Ng should carry on the family business. But he disappointed his father when he decided to strike out on his own in the 1950s, when he was in his 20s.

Mr Ng's first property project back in 1962 was a 72-unit terrace housing development at Jalan Pachelli in the Serangoon Gardens area. In 1969, he developed Watten Estate in the Bukit Timah area. In the 1970s, Mr Ng developed Far East Shopping Centre and Lucky Plaza along Orchard Road, followed by Far East Plaza on Scotts Road in the early 1980s. Since then, the group has developed Orchard Parksuites serviced residences and Orchard Central.

Mr Ng's Far East Organization group is the biggest private property developer in Singapore today. It comprises over 180 private companies and two listed entities - Orchard Parade Holdings and Yeo Hiap Seng.

In the 1970s, Mr Ng entered the Hong Kong property market. Today, the business there is under the Sino Group, which includes public-listed Tsim Sha Tsui Properties, Sino Land and Sino Hotels. Mr Ng was the only Singaporean businessman invited to the historic signing of the Sino-British Joint Declaration by Margaret Thatcher and Zhao Ziyang in December 1984.

Mr Ng's property empire today comprises not only property trading (such as developing apartments for sale) but a sizeable property investment business (comprising completed properties held for recurring rental income).

For instance, Far East is the largest owner-operator of serviced residences and corporate housing in Singapore with 2,400 apartments in its inventory. Far East and Sino have a dozen hotels here and in Hong Kong with over 4,700 rooms. The flagship is The Fullerton Hotel Singapore.

Those who knew Mr Ng recall his industrious streak. 'He was a man who worked extremely hard - day and night,' says Hong Leong Group executive chairman Kwek Leng Beng.

Back in the 1980s when the two men were active in the Real Estate Developers Association of Singapore (Redas), 'we used to study the property market together at his office ... more often than not, we would find that we were still deep in discussion long after the official Redas meetings were over and everyone else had left', Mr Kwek said.

CB Richard Ellis chairman (Asia) Willy Shee said: 'Mr Ng didn't speak much English but was very sharp and his mind was on property all the time. Even at functions, he did not engage much in social talk but always wanted to know more about the property market and trends. There was never an idle moment for him.'

Another veteran property consultant, Knight Frank chairman Tan Tiong Cheng, reminisces about his first meeting with Mr Ng around 1981. 'He was carrying a worn-out black book in which he was copying notes, doing his calculations,' Mr Tan said.

'He was always focused on property. Even when he bought into Yeo Hiap Seng, he had in mind the land bank it offered rather than just the food and beverage business,' he added.

[cheerful]

indeed a very smart and caring man ... to his family

The Shore , LH on a FH land ...will ensure that his children and their children and their ...and their .... are well taken care of ... thanks to all who bought The Shore ...

Haa, true ... but even if no takers for The Shore .. his legacy he left behind is still sufficient to feed the entire clan for a long loooong time

[Property_Owner]

8 billion= 8000 million

[proud owner]

8 billion= 8000 million

can buy over Haiti ...

and rebuild the country ...

[mr funny]

http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/sub/...70968,00.html?

Published February 3, 2010

Property industry loses towering figure

Ng Teng Fong of Far East Organization group dies, aged 82

(SINGAPORE) Property tycoon Ng Teng Fong's passing yesterday marks the end of an era of larger-than-life property titans.


Mr Ng: Forbes Asia ranked him in September last year as Singapore's richest person, with a fortune said to be US$8 billion

He was one of the earliest to develop shopping centres on Orchard Road and until today, his Far East Organization group here is probably the largest property owner in the island's prime shopping belt. In Hong Kong, he made inroads into one of the world's most competitive property markets, battling local tycoons to establish his Sino Group as one of the biggest developers there.

Market players yesterday recalled the tenacity and resilience of a man who rose from humble beginnings to build a property empire over the past five decades, bouncing back from setbacks along the way, especially the mid-1980s property slump.

Today, Far East Organization and sister outfit Sino Group have a combined annual turnover of US$5.5 billion and total assets of over US$40 billion, according to information on Far East's website. Last September, the Forbes Asia magazine ranked the late Mr Ng as Singapore's richest person, with a fortune said to be US$8 billion (S$11.3 billion).

The 82-year-old suffered a brain haemorrhage on Jan 23 and underwent an operation before he died peacefully yesterday morning, a statement from Far East Organization said. He leaves behind his wife and eight children.

While Mr Ng still kept a keen interest in his business until recently - including determining prices of property launches and land bids - he had handed over the running of his business empire some time ago to his two sons. Elder son Robert is in charge of Sino Group in Hong Kong and younger son Philip oversees the Far East Organization group in Singapore.

Philip Ng, who holds degrees in civil and geotechnical engineering as well as city planning, has over the past decade or so spruced up the company in Singapore and hired many professionals. The group has developed many award-winning buildings.

Mr Ng's wake is being held at Ng's Mansion at 2 Watten Estate, with a nightly service at 8pm. The funeral will be on Saturday.

Many in property circles yesterday mourned the loss of Mr Ng, who they said, together with Kwek Hong Png, the late founder of the Hong Leong Group, was the pioneer of the private property market in Singapore. Mr Kwek died in 1994. His elder son Leng Beng yesterday said Mr Ng's passing was 'an immense loss for the industry and for Singapore'.

'He was a doyen of the property sector. He was a proven authority with a deep understanding of real estate and an innate talent of looking at the property market in a different way.'

United Overseas Bank Group chairman Wee Cho Yaw described Mr Ng as 'an old friend of more than 50 years' who had 'an intuitive flair for reading property cycles'.

CapitaLand Group president and CEO Liew Mun Leong highlighted Mr Ng's successful entry into Hong Kong, 'a very mature and competitive market, decades ahead of others in Singapore'.

'Even the largest property companies in Hong Kong take their hats off to his company in Hong Kong, where it enjoys a high standing,' Mr Liew added.

Redas president Simon Cheong said no other foreign player has entered the Hong Kong market like Mr Ng did. He said Mr Ng's 'master stroke' in Tsim Sha Tsui a few decades ago, mopping up a whole stretch of properties in the district, 'is still being talked about among market players today'.

Mr Ng entered the Hong Kong property market in the 1970s and continued to build his business there in the early 1980s when confidence in Hong Kong was shaken due to disputes on its future between the British government and China.

Admiring the late Mr Ng's acumen, Redas CEO Steven Choo said: 'He saw the enormous prospects for real estate in land-scarce prosperous cities like Singapore and Hong Kong. In Singapore, one of his most enduring legacies is that he laid down the foundation for Singapore's modern shopping street - Orchard Road. We can see the Far East emblem everywhere in Orchard/Scotts roads. Some of his projects were visionary at the time.'

Dr Choo noted that 'Far East has also helped establish condominium living in Singapore, through its continued participation in Government Land Sale tenders'.

[mr funny]

http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/sub/...70969,00.html?

Published February 3, 2010

Tributes


Wee Cho Yaw, chairman, United Overseas Bank Group

'Teng Fong was an old friend of more than 50 years. He had an intuitive flair for reading property cycles. I have always admired his acute perception of market forces, an acumen that has made Far East among the most successful property developers in Singapore and Hong Kong. His sudden passing is a great loss to the business community.'


Kwek Leng Beng, executive chairman, Hong Leong Group Singapore

'I knew Mr Ng for a long time, and had the privilege of working closely with him especially when we were active in Redas in the 1980s. I valued his views and benefited from his insights . . . His passing is indeed an immense loss for the industry and for Singapore.'


Liew Mun Leong, president & CEO of CapitaLand Group

'Mr Ng was highly respected as a successful pioneer and veteran in the Singapore real estate industry. We speak with high regard of how he successfully steered his business through several major crises over the decades and built an impressive business empire.

'He has been equally successful in his foray into Hong Kong, a very mature and competitive market, decades ahead of others in Singapore. Such initiatives place Mr Ng Teng Fong as an exceptional property veteran whose entrepreneurship far exceeds many of us in Singapore. Even the largest property companies in Hong Kong take their hats off to his company in Hong Kong where it enjoys a high standing.'


Simon Cheong, president of Real Estate Developers' Association of Singapore

'Mr Ng is indeed a property icon in Singapore . . . We at Redas will indeed miss his presence and guidance. His scale and timing are legendary.'

[mr funny]

http://www.straitstimes.com/PrimeNew...ry_485597.html

Feb 3, 2010

NG TENG FONG: 1928 - 2010

The king of Orchard Road

Legendary property tycoon was Singapore's richest man

By Wong Kim Hoh, Senior Writer


PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO


MR SIMON Cheong remembers the day he was discussing the vagaries of the property market with real estate tycoon Ng Teng Fong a couple of decades ago.

'I was a young banker then, and we were sitting in his office debating supply and demand. Mr Ng then said to me, 'You sit there arguing with me but just look at my showroom. It is packed,'' recalled the chief executive of property developer SC Global.

'As a young banker, I was analysing things to death but he cut out all the jargon. He could see through noise and spot trends, true hallmarks of a real entrepreneur.'

Mr Cheong, 51, who is president of the Real Estate Developers Association of Singapore (Redas), added: 'In land tender, he was a world leader. As a property player, he was world class. By any standard, he was clearly an icon.'

Indeed, Mr Ng - who died yesterday aged 82 after suffering a brain haemorrhage late last month - was one of the most astute property men Singapore has seen.

Ranked by Forbes for the last three years as the country's richest man, with an estimated fortune of US$8 billion (S$11.3 billion), he founded Far East Organization, Singapore's largest private property developer.

Survived by his wife, two sons and six daughters, Mr Ng did not have much formal education, and was comfortable speaking mainly Hokkien and Mandarin.

That did not stop him from being nicknamed the King of Orchard Road, for his properties that sprouted one after the other in the shopping strip from the 1970s.

The oldest, Far East Shopping Centre, was followed by Lucky Plaza, Far East Plaza, Pacific Plaza. The newest, Orchard Central, opened just last year.

His hotels included the Orchard Parade Hotel as well as the Fullerton Hotel, which turned the old General Post Office into a grand new landmark on the Singapore River.

With subsidiary Sino Group, Mr Ng also became the largest overseas Chinese investor in the Hong Kong property market.

In all, his property empire spanned more than 1,000 hotels, malls and condominiums here and in Hong Kong.

Elder son Robert is in charge of his Hong Kong operations, while younger son Philip oversees Singapore.

In the mid 1990s, the late tycoon moved in to buy Yeo Hiap Seng, a household name for soft drinks and canned food, when the founding Yeo family became mired in factional squabbles.

Yeo Hiap Seng deputy chairman S. Chandra Das said Mr Ng belonged 'to the pioneer group of Singapore businessmen who didn't become rich overnight'.

'He became a tycoon because of his foresight and vision,' he said.

Mr Ng was born in a small village in Putian, in China's Fujian province. The eldest of 11 children, he came to Singapore with his family when he was six. He had little formal education, and at an early age was helping at his father's soya sauce factory and even worked as a bicycle repairman for a while.

Although the family hoped that he would take over the business, the young Ng dreamt of building and selling houses.

By 1962, he had saved enough money to develop a small housing estate behind Serangoon Gardens - 72 single-storey terrace houses which he sold at $20,000 apiece.

He never looked back.

Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew has held him up as a role model for entrepreneurs.

'Ng Teng Fong never went to university (but) I think he has a pretty powerful computer up there when figures are concerned,' said Mr Lee in 1996.

GK Goh Holdings chairman Goh Geok Khim remembers Mr Ng as someone 'who spent a lot of time just looking at properties in Singapore'.

'He lived, breathed and dreamt property. Architects who expected to go for dinner after showing him plans...ha ha...no such thing. He would go over everything with them with a fine tooth comb,' he said.

Tycoon Kwek Leng Beng, executive chairman of the Hong Leong Group, said he used to be active with Mr Ng in Redas in the 1980s.

'He was a man who worked extremely hard, day and night,' he said in a statement. 'We used to study the property market together at his office while we were dealing with property matters.

'More often than not, we would find that we were still deep in discussion long after the official Redas meetings were over and everyone else had left.'

In fact, Mr Ng was so passionate about his business that he not only worked 18 hours a day, but also reportedly would take a penlight along when he went to the occasional movie with his wife so that he could do his planning and calculations in the dark.

Fellow hotel and property developer Ong Beng Seng said that although Mr Ng lacked formal education, he made up for it with business acumen and gut feel.

'He was a legend in property and real estate development and left behind a great legacy.'

Mr Cheong agreed. 'He went into the Hong Kong property market in a big way in the 1970s when even Hong Kong players dared not.

'They thought he was crazy. Today, just look at what he owns in Tsim Sha Tsui,' he said referring to Sino Group's string of properties in one of Hong Kong's busiest tourist belts.

Mr Ng was a tycoon who guarded his privacy jealously, and never liked to have his picture taken. As he told The Straits Times in 1981: 'I'm an ordinary working man. And I often take my $2 mee from the Newton hawker centre after work.

'If my picture appears in the papers, people will know who I am. I am rich and someone may kidnap me.

'If someone kidnaps me and I'm killed, all my companies will collapse. And what will happen to my family? I have my worries.'

He had a penchant for racehorses and Rolls-Royces, but he rarely granted interviews. When he did speak to reporters, he delivered piquant quotes.

In a 1996 interview with Apple Daily, the Hong Kong Chinese-language newspaper, he was asked to explain his unerring property picks.

His response: 'If you want to be in the property business, it is not possible to invest in every region.

'You open the map. If you can't see the place (because it's too small) but only the name, that's the place to invest in...Singapore and Hong Kong are the best examples.'

On an earlier occasion, in 1984, he said he was not a risk-taker, but 'a long-term entrepreneur'.

He said he did not believe in developing projects only when the property market was buoyant and laying off people when it was down.

'It is like saying Singapore Airlines will fly to Hong Kong only when the weather is good, and won't fly when the weather is bad,' he said.

His son Philip gave an insight into his father in a speech at the Global Leadership Congress two years ago.

'My father is a mentor, but a tough one. As you know the term, tough love,' he said.

'When I was younger, he'd always tell me, 'I have to tell you, even if it hurts because only I can tell you. When you're at the position you're in, everybody's going to say nice things to you.''

[email protected]

[mr funny]

http://www.straitstimes.com/PrimeNew...ry_485610.html

Feb 3, 2010

Employees, tycoons pay respects to 'property king'

Top business leaders, busloads of employees turn up at the wake

By Joyce Teo & Dickson Li


Streams of people arriving at Mr Ng's wake last night, held at his long-time family home, Ng's Mansion, in Watten Estate Road. United Overseas Bank chairman Wee Cho Yaw and former top civil servant Ngiam Tong Dow were among those who turned up last night. -- ST PHOTO: TERENCE TAN

BILLIONAIRE property magnate Ng Teng Fong, 82, died early yesterday morning, after suffering a cerebral haemorrhage on Jan 23.

He apparently had a fall and was in a coma. He was taken to hospital and underwent an operation.

Property giant Far East Organization said Mr Ng, the firm's chairman, passed away peacefully.

Busloads of employees arrived at the wake held last night at his long-time family home, called Ng's Mansion.

There was a valet service for guests and there were so many cars at the scene that Cisco police had to be called in to direct traffic and prevent indiscriminate parking.

Among the sea of faces that came to pay their respects last night were many familiar names in the corporate world, such Ms Jannie Tay, executive vice-chairman of watch retailer The Hour Glass, United Overseas Bank chairman Wee Cho Yaw and former top civil servant Ngiam Tong Dow.

Mr Ngiam called Mr Ng one of Singapore's greatest business leaders while Mr Wee, who had known him for 45 years, labelled him 'a genius'.

Indeed, the tycoon - a low-profile, self-made man - enjoyed an unparalleled career. His empire here includes shopping malls, offices, industrial properties, hotels, service apartments and residential projects for lease and sale.

In tributes that poured in yesterday, business associates said they remember him as a private person but a frugal, hardworking man who was not afraid of taking a risk.

CapitaLand president and chief executive Liew Mun Leong said last night: 'We speak with high regard of how he has successfully steered his business through several major crises over the decades and built an impressive business empire.

'He has been equally successful in his foray into Hong Kong, a very mature and competitive market, decades ahead of others in Singapore.'

Developer Daniel Teo, a former head of the Real Estate Developers' Association of Singapore, knew Mr Ng for 30 years, calling him an 'astute businessman... far-sighted and a price leader. He said, 'I buy high but I can sell even higher''.

The man never believed in retirement, added Mr Teo. 'Enjoyment (for him) was going to see his projects.'

Developing was certainly Mr Ng's main calling. 'He very seldom engaged in small talk. He didn't waste time on unnecessary things,' said CB Richard Ellis chairman (Asia) Willy Shee.

Mr Ng ensured Far East had a succession plan in place and his death did not rattle share markets yesterday or have an effect on listed firms linked to the family.

Eldest son Robert, 57, chairs the Hong Kong-listed Sino Group, whose portfolio includes The Fullerton Hotel here and properties in Hong Kong and China.

Second son Philip, 51, and the youngest of Mr Ng's eight children, is chief executive of Far East Organization, the largest privately-held developer here, and chairman of hotel group Orchard Parade Holdings and beverage firm Yeo Hiap Seng.

Mr Ng is survived by his wife Tan Kim Choo and eight children.

A nightly service will be held at 8pm, and the funeral is on Saturday.

[email protected]

[email protected]

Additional reporting by Goh Eng Yeow

[mr funny]

http://www.straitstimes.com/Singapor...ry_486092.html

Feb 4, 2010

More attend late tycoon's wake

By Dickson Li


Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean was one of many who paid their respects on the second day of the wake of property billionaire Ng Teng Fong. -- ST PHOTO: ALPHONSUS CHERN

A STEADY stream of politicians and business leaders, as well as many other mourners, paid their respects on the second day of the wake of property billionaire Ng Teng Fong yesterday.

Wreaths flowed out from the grounds of Mr Ng's home and along both sides of Watten Estate Road.

Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng stayed for more than half an hour last night, while Education Minister Ng Eng Hen made a lunchtime visit.

Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean, Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Lim Swee Say and Law Minister K. Shanmugam also visited, as did Temasek chief executive Ho Ching.

Employees from Far East Organization, where Mr Ng was chairman, and others eager to pay their respects filed into the home throughout the day and into the evening.

Plastic surgeon Woffles Wu, OCBC chairman Cheong Choong Kong, Drew & Napier chief executive Davinder Singh and film-maker Eric Khoo were also present.

Mr Ng, 82, died on Tuesday after suffering a cerebral haemorrhage last Saturday.The huge turnout yesterday was testament to Mr Ng's remarkable achievements as a property developer, one that earned him the tag King of Orchard Road.

Foreign Minister George Yeo knew the property magnate and remembers him with deep respect: 'He's a remarkable man who contributed a lot to Singapore's development through his spirit of enterprise and his belief right from the beginning that Singapore is a good bet.

'He did a lot of good, and his family has done a lot of philanthropic work. He was a very wise man, very canny, very insightful.'

Mr Yeo added that Mr Ng was 'old school, always frugal and calculating in a good way; a businessman and a highly intelligent entrepreneur'.

A service was held at 8pm.

[mr funny]

http://www.straitstimes.com/News/Hom...ry_487512.html

Feb 7, 2010

Over 500 bid final farewell to Ng Teng Fong

By Fiona Chan


More than 750 Far East employees, clad in black and white, bowing to Mr Ng's cortege as a sign of respect as his hearse passed Far East Plaza, one of the iconic malls that earned him the nickname 'King of Orchard Road'. --PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO

http://www.straitstimes.com/News/Hom...ry_487512.html

Politicians, bankers and businessmen were among more than 500 people who braved the afternoon heat yesterday to say a final farewell to Singapore's richest man.

They gathered under billowy white tents at the sprawling Watten Estate property of reclusive property magnate Ng Teng Fong, who died last Tuesday at the age of 82. He had suffered a brain haemorrhage on Jan 23.

Lining the road outside Ng's Mansion, an old-fashioned two-storey bungalow where he had lived for 40 years, were some of the more than 700 condolence wreaths received by the family, including one from Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang.

They were testament to the influence Mr Ng had commanded as the founder of Far East Organization, the largest private property developer in Singapore with more than 1,000 buildings here and in Hong Kong. He had a fortune of more than US$8 billion (S$11.3 billion).

Guests at his funeral service yesterday included Education Minister Ng Eng Hen, Government of Singapore Investment Corporation deputy chairman Tony Tan and former PSA chairman Yeo Ning Hong.

Veteran banker Peter Seah, a long-time family friend and banker to Mr Ng, delivered a 10-minute eulogy in which he painted a picture of Mr Ng as a brilliant property investor, hard worker, generous friend and a dedicated family man who was devoted to his wife and respected by his children.

Mr Ng is survived by his wife Tan Kim Choo, sons Robert and Philip - who control his property empire in Hong Kong and Singapore respectively - and five daughters. He also has 22 grandchildren and one great-grandson, according to his obituary.

Robert, the eldest, carried Mr Ng's portrait and led the funeral procession. His brother Philip and sister Dorothy helped their mother, who uses a wheelchair, to the family's Rolls-Royce.

In his eulogy, Mr Seah said Mr Ng liked to call himself an 'ordinary man'. Indeed, Mr Ng's frugal habits were the stuff of legend. He dressed simply, shunned publicity and was said to take his own meals onto aeroplanes.

But no ordinary man could have stopped traffic like he did yesterday. En route to Choa Chu Kang Christian Cemetery, cars were halted to let Mr Ng's cortege pass Far East Plaza, one of the iconic malls that earned him the nickname 'King of Orchard Road'.

As the hearse drove by the 28-year-old mall at 4pm, more than 750 Far East employees, arrayed in front of the building in a sea of black and white, bowed to the vehicle as a sign of respect.

It wasn't just staff who wanted a last glimpse of him. Some members of the public, including a 50-year- old housewife who wanted to be known only as Mrs Chan, had gone specially to Far East Plaza for that purpose.

'My father, who is almost 90 years old, wanted to pay his last respects,' she told The Sunday Times. 'Though we didn't know Mr Ng personally, we think he played a great role in the modernisation of Singapore.'

The hearse also passed Lucky Plaza, another Far East mall Mr Ng is said to have visited regularly even in the months before his death.

Mr Ng, said to have been a stickler for rules in life, would probably have been happy with the way the procession was organised. No loud-hailers, no music, no banners, no running along the road, no wailing as the hearse drove by - these were some of the rules laid down for Far East staff, according to an employee.

By the time the procession reached Choa Chu Kang at about 4.30pm, the heat of the afternoon had given way to cloudy skies.

As the rain pelted down, a simple Christian burial service was held in a white tent closed to the public. There was no opulent mausoleum, no ornate family crypt.

In his final resting place, Mr Ng Teng Fong - tycoon, property visionary, Singapore pioneer - lay among the normal folk, an 'ordinary man' in an ordinary grave.

Additional reporting by Debby Kwong and Ng Hui Ying