The Singapore-registered Heap Eng Moh Steamship Company was acquired by sugar tycoon Oei Tiong Ham in 1912 as a new addition to his expanding business empire. Oei was born in Semarang, Java, to Oei Tjie Sien, a wealthy Chinese merchant who had established the Kian Gwan Kongsi trading firm in 1863. Building on his father’s legacy, Oei grew the family business into a multinational conglomerate trading in various commodities, most notably sugar. By acquiring shipping companies such as Heap Eng Moh, Oei was able to ship his Javanese produce directly to Singapore for further redistribution overseas. Following his sudden death in 1924, the shipping line’s fortunes waned and the Oei family’s controlling stake in the firm was eventually bought over by their shipping rivals, the Dutch-controlled Koninklijke Paketvaart Maatschappij (KPM), in 1928.
