SMU Board of Trustees member Timothy Chia Chee Ming pledged S$500,000 as endowed scholarship in honour of late father

Singapore, 11 January 2012 (Wednesday) – Mr Timothy Chia Chee Ming, a member of the Singapore Management University's (SMU) Board of Trustees and Chairman, Hup Soon Global Corporation Limited, pledged a endowed scholarship gift worth S$500,000 to SMU today.

Known as the Charlie Chia Cheng Guan Scholarship, the endowed contribution by Mr Timothy Chia is established in honour of his late father, who passed away at the age of 93 on 7 February 2011. The late Mr Charlie Chia was a prominent businessman who helmed the former United Motor Works (UMW) Group (now known as UMW Holdings Bhd), a leading automotive and engineering Malaysian conglomerate founded by his father in 1917, till the 1980s. Hup Soon Global, a distributor of industrial equipment as well as automotive and industrial supplies, was founded by Mr Timothy Chia in 2005 and listed on the Singapore Exchange in 2007. Hup Soon is the Chinese name for UMW.

The Charlie Chia Cheng Guan Scholarship is aimed at motivating full-time undergraduate students at SMU to achieving greater heights of excellence. Two scholarships will be granted annually in perpetuity, starting from Academic Year 2011 – 2012. The scholarships, each valued at S$15,000 and bond-free, are tenable for one year of the recipients' studies, subject to good academic performance (minimum GPA of 3.4), outstanding leadership qualities as well as active involvement in community and/or co-curricular activities. These scholarships will offer support towards the recipients' tuition fees and other study-related expenses. Preference will be given to Singaporean undergraduates in their second, third or final year of studies from SMU's Lee Kong Chian School of Business, School of Economics, School of Accountancy and School of Law. Special consideration will be given to students with financial needs. The Charlie Chia Cheng Guan Scholarship is now open for applications.

“My late father, Charlie Chia, was deprived of the opportunity to further his studies when he was young. Hence, he understood how important it is for motivated students to realise their aspirations and potential through tertiary education,” said Mr Timothy Chia, “It is thus my hope that setting up this scholarship in his honour would enable more deserving students to benefit from the experience and quality undergraduate programmes that SMU offers.”

“SMU is very grateful to Mr Timothy Chia for his generous gift that has enabled the university to launch the Charlie Chia Cheng Guan Scholarship. The late Mr Charlie Chia was an astute but humble businessman who's well-respected by the community. The recipients of this scholarship will be honoured to be its bearers and to live out the values held dear by the late Mr Charlie Chia, for generations to come,“ said Professor Arnoud De Meyer, President of SMU.

About the Charlie Chia Cheng Guan Scholarship

The Charlie Chia Cheng Guan Scholarship is established by Mr Timothy Chia, a member of the SMU Board of Trustees, in honour of his late father, who passed away at the age of 93 in February 2011. The elder Chia was a prominent businessman in the automotive industry and a loving husband, father and grandfather who had an immense zest for life. Despite his wealth, he was never arrogant about his status and successes. The late Charlie Chia had to start work at an early age without the benefit of a tertiary education as his father (Timothy's grandfather) did not believe in the benefit of education as he came from China as a penniless boy. With the gift of these 2 endowed scholarships named in memory of his late father, Timothy hopes future generations of Singaporeans will be inspired by his father's legacy.