The King’s Chinese: From Barber to Banker, the story of Yeap Chor Ee and the Straits Chinese, written by the tycoon’s great-granddaughter Daryl Yeap, is drawing renewed attention to the life of one of pre-independence Malaya’s most influential Chinese business figures.
Born in Fujian, China, in 1867, Yeap arrived in Penang in 1885 with no formal education or capital.
After working as an itinerant street barber, he expanded into trading, property, and sugar refining before establishing Ban Hin Lee Bank in 1918.
According to historical records, he was the only Straits Chinese businessman in Penang to found a bank entirely with personal capital.
