Oei Tiong Ham Concern (Kian Gwan) Archives (1932-) 1946-1996 (-2017)1946-1963

Nederlandsch Economisch-Historisch Archief (NEHA) Cruquiusweg 31 1019 AT Amsterdam The Netherlands

hdl:10622/ARCH04486

Table of contents

Oei Tiong Ham Concern (Kian Gwan) Archives...... 3 Context...... 3 Content and Structure...... 4 Access and Use...... 5 Allied Material...... 5 Inventory...... 5 Archival documents...... 5 Documentation...... 6 Accrual 2020...... 7

Nederlandsch Economisch-Historisch Archief (NEHA) 2 Oei Tiong Ham Concern (Kian Gwan) Archives (1932-) 1946-1996 (-2017)1946-1963

Oei Tiong Ham Concern (Kian Gwan) Archives

Collection ID ARCH04486 Creator Oei Tiong Ham Concern (Kian Gwan) Period (1932-) 1946-1996 (-2017)1946-1963 Period (bulk) 1946-1963 Extent 0.47 meters archival material, 37 photos 0.47 Meters 37 Photographs Language list English Language of Material Dutch, English, Indonesian Abstract Trade company, originally founded as Kian Gwan in Semarang, Dutch East Indies 1863. Gradually this became a big trading company in sugar, opium. and many other products. Confiscated by the Indonesian state in 1961.

Context

Historical Note Kian Gwan Kong Si, parent company of the Oei Tiong Ham Concern (OTHC) was founded in Semarang, Dutch East Indies by the Chinese entrepreneur Oei Tjie Sien 1863; this initiative was the beginning of a vast trading empire; in 1890, his son Oei Tiong Ham took over the firm Kian Gwan which diversified and grew into one of the largest firms in Southeast Asia; at the time, Oei took over the firm, Kian Gwan's main activity was trade, especially trade in rubber, kapok, gambir, tapioca and coffee; in addition, it was involved with pawnshops, postal services, logging and the highly lucrative opium trade; it has been estimated that between 1890 and 1904, Kian Gwan made a profit of some 18 million guilders in the opium trade alone, which provided the basis for his empire; during the post-war boom of 1918-1920, the worldwide demand for Java sugar was high, creating many opportunities for sugar-mill owners and sugar brokers, but fortunes gained were easily lost in a couple of days; Oei followed a cautious policy during these boom years, he did not speculate too heavily and took steps to improve its financial administration; unlike many of his Chinese contemporaries, Oei relied heavily on written contracts in conducting his business and recruited talented accountants to set up a modern accounting system for the sugar factories; due to the cautious and independent strategy, the company survived the subsequent sugar crisis while many other Chinese firms perished; besides making use of written agreements and a modern accounting system, Oei also diverted from yet another Chinese business practice of the time, instead of relying solely on family members in running his wide ranging business enterprises, he deliberately chose capable outsiders, such as Dutch directors, managers, and engineers to manage his companies; in 1920, Oei left Semarang and settled in Singapore to escape Dutch colonial succession law and tax regime; in 1961, the Indonesian OTHC came to an end, when the Indonesian government's Pengadilan Ekonomi (the court for economic crimes) seized and nationalized all of OTHC's Indonesian assets including its strategic sugar plantations and factories; in 1964, the government formed a holding company named PT Rajawali Nusantara Indonesia to run them, which is still a prominent corporation up to this day; however, many of the Kian Gwan offices abroad managed to survive and became independent companies on its own, each operated by one of sons of Oei Tiong Ham. See on the history of the OTHC also a website on the history of Semarang. See also the article 'Oei Tiong Ham Concern, a major Chinese trading firm' by Bouwe Hijma in: On the Waterfront. Newsletter of the friends of the IISH, no. 35 (2018), p. 8-9.

Custodial History The archival documents were handed over in 2002 by Mr. Tan Swan Bing, former executive secretary and accountant of the OTHC group, to Leonard Blussé van Oud Alblas, professor History

Nederlandsch Economisch-Historisch Archief (NEHA) 3 Oei Tiong Ham Concern (Kian Gwan) Archives (1932-) 1946-1996 (-2017)1946-1963 of European-Asian Relations at the Leiden University, who donated these to the IISH/NEHA in 2017. See also inv. no. 24 of the archives.

Acquisition Gift J.L. (Leonard) Blussé van Oud Alblas to the Nederlandsch Economisch-Historisch archief (NEHA) 2017

Content and Structure

Content Correspondence and other documents on the reorganization and future of the concern 1946-1955; correspondence and other documents on the confiscation of the concern and the appeal against this decision of the Indonesian government 1959-1963 (-1996); report by Oei Tiong Ham Industrial Department of Kian Gwan Co. (Indonesia) on the rehabilitation of sugar factory ‘Krebet’ 1953; documents on the process by the brothers Oei Tjong and other family members against the Oei Tiong Ham Trust Company N.V. in Semarang, Indonesia at the Arrondissements-Rechtbank in Amsterdam 1958; annual reports and lists of products of N.V. Phapros (Pharmaceutical Processing Industries) in Semarang 1963-1968; auditor reports on PT Rajawali Indonesia and its various subsidiaries 1968; magazine articles on the history of the concern 1963, 1973.

Arrangement The order of the inventory sent together with the archives is held broadly. The archives contain documents in Dutch, in English and in Indonesian language. Decided is to make the inventory in English language.

Processing Information This EAD-record has been edited by Bouwe Hijma, IISH, 2017, the inventory was sent parallel with the archives and edited by Bouwe Hijma.

Subjects

Geographic Names Netherlands Indonesia Singapore

Persons Oei Tjong Tjay, Benny Oei, William Tan Swan Bing

Organizations N.V. Algemeene Maatschappij tot Exploitatie der Oei Tiong Ham Suikerfabrieken

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N.V. Handel-Maatschappij 'Kian Gwan' Oei Tiong Ham Trust Company N.V. (Semarang, Indonesia) PT Rajawali Nusantara Indonesia Sugarfactory 'Krebet'

Themes Colonial question/Anti-colonialist movements Trade/Industry/Finance

Material Type Archival material

Access and Use

Access Not restricted

Preferred Citation Oei Tiong Ham Concern (Kian Gwan) Archives, inventory number ..., Nederlandsch Economisch- Historisch Archief (NEHA), Amsterdam

Allied Material

Separated Material Two books, included in these archives, are transferred to the library of the IISH (including the NEHA library). The titles are: Japanese Economic Development. A Short Introduction by Kunio Yoshihara (second edition, 1986) (NEHA 1983/1834) and Foreign Investment and Domestic Response. A Study of Singapore's Industrialization by Kunio Yoshihara (1976) (NEHA 1983/1835).

Inventory

Archival documents

1-2 Documents on the reorganization and future of the concern. 1946-1955, 1958. 2 folders 1 Correspondence and other documents on the reorganization and future of the concern. 1946-1949. 2 Annual report on 1952-1953, notarial deeds and other documents. 1946-1947, 1950-1955, 1958. 3 Documents on the appeal process to the Supreme Court of Indonesia. With the newspaper Berita Negara of the Republik Indonesia, no. 81 (10 oktober 1961). 1961-1963. 1 folder

Nederlandsch Economisch-Historisch Archief (NEHA) 5 Oei Tiong Ham Concern (Kian Gwan) Archives (1932-) 1946-1996 (-2017)1946-1963

4-5 Correspondence conducted within the framework of the appeal process to the Supreme Court of Indonesia and other documents on this appeal against the confiscation of the concern. 1961-1963. 2 covers 4 Part 1. 5 Part 2. 6 Photocopies of articles about the history of OTHC and the confiscation in Indonesia. With a letter from William Oei, Tokyo to Mr. Oei Tjong Tjay, dated 31 May 1996. 1959, 1962, 1973, 1996. 1 folder 7 Annual reports and lists of products of N.V. Phapros (Pharmaceutical Processing Industries), Semarang. With 27 photographs of the building, its interior and the staff. 1963-1968. 1 folder 8 Auditor reports (balance and earnings list) on P.T. Radjawali Indonesia and its various subsidiaries. 1968. 1 folder 9 Correspondence between family members and lawyers on the legal process in Indonesia and other documents related to it. 1961. 1 folder 10 Report by Oei Tiong Ham Industrial Department of Kian Gwan Co. (Indonesia) Ltd. N.V. on the rehabilitation of Sugar factory 'Krebet'. With a map and 10 photographs. 1954. 1 folder 11-12 Correspondence among the sons on the organization of OTHC and the confiscation and other documents related to it. 1958-1963, 1988-1989, 1991, 1996. 2 folders 11 1958-1963. 12 1988-1989, 1991, 1996. 13 Documents on the process by the brothers Oei Tjong and other family members against the Oei Tiong Ham Trust Company N.V.in Semarang, Indonesia at the Arrondissements-Rechtbank in Amsterdam. 1958. 1 folder 14-16 Correspondence between family members and lawyers on the legal process in Indonesia and the confiscation and other documents related to it. 1959-1961. 3 folders 14 Part 1. 15 Part 2. 16 Part 3. 17 Correspondence among sons on the confiscation of all properties of OTHC by the government of the Republic of Indonesia. 1961-1963. 1 folder 18-19 Correspondence among sons, lawyers and representatives of OTHC in Indonesia. (1958) 1961-1962. 2 folders 18 (1958), 1961. 19 1961-1962. 20 Photocopies of correspondence among sons and lawyers and reports on lawsuit, trials, details of property of the OTHC. With a letter from Tan Swan Bing to Mr. Oei Tjongh Tjay, dated 29 October 1996. 1960-1962, 1996. 1 cover

Documentation

21 The story of Krebet. 'Published by Handel Maatschappij Kian Gwan'. With a letter from Tony A. Tanutama to Mr. Oei Tjong Tjay, dated 3 July 1981. 1932, 1981. 1 folder

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22 Photocopy of The Oei Tiong Ham - Concern. A short survey of its Development and Progress. 'Published by N.V. Handel Maatschappij Kian Gwan 1934'. With some photocopies and a typescript 'Riwayat Hidup Singkat Satya Sannyasi'. 1934, 1961, 1978, 1989. 1 cover 23 Artikelenreeks 'O.T.H.C. - 100 jaar. Een stukje economische geschiedenis van Indonesia' door drs. Tjoa Soe Tjong in Economisch-Statistische Berichten van 26 juni, 10 juli en 17 juli 1963 en artikelenreeks 'Het proces "Oei Tiong Ham-Concern". Een beeld van de rechtswording in een ontwikkelingsland' door drs. Tjoa Soe Tjong in Economisch-Statistische Berichten van 21 en 28 februari 1973. 1963, 1973. 1 folder

Accrual 2020

24 An e-mail dated 1 February 2017 from Leonard Blussé, the donor of the Oei Tiong Ham Concern (Kian Gwan) Archives, to Jacques van Gerwen, curator of the NEHA, on the history of these archives, the various members of the Oei family and Tan Swan Bing, the earlier executive secretary and accountant of the concern. 2017. 1 folder

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