97-400: Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Limited ( simplified Chinese : 华侨银行有限公司 ; traditional Chinese : 華僑銀行有限公司 ; pinyin : Huáqiáo Yínháng Yǒuxiàn Gōngsī ), abbreviated as OCBC ( simplified Chinese : 华侨银行 ; traditional Chinese : 華僑銀行 ; pinyin : Huáqiáo Yínháng ), is a Singaporean multinational banking and financial services corporation headquartered at
194-631: A lion head watermark, and the signature of the Minister for Finance and chairman of the BCCS, on the front of the note. As an added security feature, all notes have a vertically embedded security thread. The current Portrait series was introduced in 1999, with the one- and 500-dollar denominations omitted. These notes feature the face of Yusof bin Ishak , the first president of the Republic of Singapore, on
291-451: A common front design and varying back designs depicting the theme 'Vibrant Nation, Endearing Home'. Each note reflects a value or aspiration that defines the theme: 'Caring Community, Active Citizenry', 'Opportunities for All', 'Safe and Secure', 'Strong Families' and '...regardless of race, language or religion...'. In 2017, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of its Currency Interchangeability Agreement between Brunei and Singapore , both
388-443: A component—either a character or a sub-component called a radical —usually involves either a reduction in its total number of strokes , or an apparent streamlining of which strokes are chosen in what places—for example, the ⼓ ' WRAP ' radical used in the traditional character 沒 is simplified to ⼏ ' TABLE ' to form the simplified character 没 . By systematically simplifying radicals, large swaths of
485-434: A conversion table. While exercising such derivation, the following rules should be observed: Sample Derivations : The Series One List of Variant Characters reduces the number of total standard characters. First, amongst each set of variant characters sharing identical pronunciation and meaning, one character (usually the simplest in form) is elevated to the standard character set, and the rest are made obsolete. Then amongst
582-407: A few revised forms, and was implemented for official use by China's State Council on 5 June 2013. In Chinese, simplified characters are referred to by their official name 简化字 ; jiǎnhuàzì , or colloquially as 简体字 ; jiǎntǐzì . The latter term refers broadly to all character variants featuring simplifications of character form or structure, a practice which has always been present as
679-404: A floral theme. One-dollar banknotes were discontinued and gradually replaced with an aluminium-bronze coin. The 5-cent coin was also changed to aluminum-bronze while the 10, 20, and 50 cents remained copper-nickel. Limited numbers of commemorative bimetallic 5-dollar coins with scalloped edges were also periodically issued later during this series. This series is still in circulation. The 1 cent coin
776-702: A more market-oriented exchange regime, classified as a Monitoring Band, in which the Singapore dollar is allowed to float (within an undisclosed bandwidth of a central parity) but closely monitored by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) against a concealed basket of currencies of Singapore's major trading partners and competitors. This, in theory, allows the Singaporean government to have more control over imported inflation and to ensure that Singapore's exports remain competitive. On 1 October 2002,
873-747: A network of 411 offices in 62 cities and 576 ATMs throughout Indonesia. Its customers could also use more than 37,500 ATMs (including ATMs belonging to ATM Bersama , Bank Central Asia , OCBC Bank in Singapore, and BankCard in Malaysia). Subsequently, in November 2010, OCBC Indonesia merged with OCBC NISP. OCBC wholly owns OCBC Al-Amin Bank, its Islamic banking subsidiary, which offers Islamic banking products and services in Malaysia. OCBC Al-Amin Bank Berhad
970-610: A newly coined phono-semantic compound : Removing radicals Only retaining single radicals Replacing with ancient forms or variants : Adopting ancient vulgar variants : Readopting abandoned phonetic-loan characters : Copying and modifying another traditional character : Based on 132 characters and 14 components listed in Chart 2 of the Complete List , the 1,753 derived characters found in Chart 3 can be created by systematically simplifying components using Chart 2 as
1067-573: A part of the Chinese writing system. The official name tends to refer to the specific, systematic set published by the Chinese government, which includes not only simplifications of individual characters, but also a substantial reduction in the total number of characters through the merger of formerly distinct forms. According to Chinese palaeographer Qiu Xigui , the broadest trend in the evolution of Chinese characters over their history has been simplification, both in graphical shape ( 字形 ; zìxíng ),
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#17327939912151164-419: A portrait of Yusof Ishak, Singapore's first president, as in the current Portrait series notes. The $ 50 note highlights Singapore's history, transformation and future. It shows the late Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew, shouting "Merdeka!"—the rallying cry of Singapore's independence struggle. The note makes distinctive use of the colour gold, reflecting Singapore's Golden Jubilee. The five $ 10 notes have
1261-509: A short time after the Nixon Shock of the early 1970s. As Singapore's economy grew and its trade links diversified to many other countries and regions, Singapore moved towards pegging its currency against a fixed and undisclosed trade-weighted basket of currencies from 1973 to 1985. Before 1970, the various monetary functions associated with a central bank were performed by several government departments and agencies. As Singapore progressed,
1358-474: A technical problem at about 8.33am, which affected both consumer and banking customers. The affected services included the bank's internet and mobile banking platforms, the PayNow service, ATMs, cards, and Velocity, the bank's digital business banking platform. All banking services were restored at about 12.20pm. According to media reports, OCBC shares gained 1.05% in afternoon trading that day. On 7 November 2023,
1455-407: A vertically embedded security thread, while the $ 1,000 and $ 10,000 notes have two. The Ship Series of currency notes is the third set of notes to be issued for circulation in Singapore. Issued in the years 1984 to 1999, it retains the number of denominations as was in the previous two series of notes, but switches the $ 20 note for the $ 2 one. A maritime theme to reflect Singapore's maritime heritage
1552-473: A wholly owned subsidiary e2 Power Pte Ltd to provide back-office operations and technology support and transaction processing services in Singapore. A similar operating company, e2 Power Sdn Bhd was also set up on 21 July 2004 in Malaysia. On 3 June 2005, OCBC saw the grand opening ceremony of its newly-constructed Malaysia headquarters and main branch (Menara OCBC building) in Kuala Lumpur, officiated by
1649-652: Is a wholly owned private banking subsidiary of OCBC. Following OCBC's acquisition of ING Asia Private Bank in October 2009, Bank of Singapore was formed on 29 January 2010 from the combination of ING Asia Private Bank and OCBC Private Bank. With branches in Hong Kong and Dubai and a representative office in Makati City, Bank of Singapore serves high-net-worth individuals and wealthy families of Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan,
1746-440: Is actually more complex than eliminated ones. An example is the character 搾 which is eliminated in favor of the variant form 榨 . The 扌 'HAND' with three strokes on the left of the eliminated 搾 is now seen as more complex, appearing as the ⽊ 'TREE' radical 木 , with four strokes, in the chosen variant 榨 . Not all characters standardised in the simplified set consist of fewer strokes. For instance,
1843-454: Is derived. Merging homophonous characters: Adapting cursive shapes ( 草書楷化 ): Replacing a component with a simple arbitrary symbol (such as 又 and 乂 ): Omitting entire components : Omitting components, then applying further alterations : Structural changes that preserve the basic shape Replacing the phonetic component of phono-semantic compounds : Replacing an uncommon phonetic component : Replacing entirely with
1940-558: Is no longer in the legal names of both OCBC's Hong Kong and Macau subsidiaries. In 2006, OCBC Bank first acquired a 12.2% equity holding in China's Ningbo Commercial Bank. OCBC subsequently raised its stake in the renamed Bank of Ningbo to 20% (the maximum allowed) in 2014. In December 2021, nearly 470 customers of OCBC lost a combined S$ 8.5 million after fallen prey to phishing scams involving OCBC, when scammers took advantage of old short message service (SMS) technology to impersonate
2037-480: Is normally abbreviated with the dollar sign $ , or S$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) issues the banknotes and coins of the Singapore dollar. As of 2022, the Singapore dollar is the 10th most-traded currency in the world by value. Apart from its use in Singapore, the Singapore dollar is also accepted as customary tender in Brunei according to
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#17327939912152134-813: Is now discouraged. A State Language Commission official cited "oversimplification" as the reason for restoring some characters. The language authority declared an open comment period until 31 August 2009, for feedback from the public. In 2013, the List of Commonly Used Standard Chinese Characters was published as a revision of the 1988 lists; it included a total of 8105 characters. It included 45 newly recognized standard characters that were previously considered variant forms, as well as official approval of 226 characters that had been simplified by analogy and had seen wide use but were not explicitly given in previous lists or documents. Singapore underwent three successive rounds of character simplification , eventually arriving at
2231-623: Is referred to as the " big seal script ". The traditional narrative, as also attested in the Shuowen Jiezi dictionary ( c. 100 AD ), is that the Qin small seal script that would later be imposed across China was originally derived from the Zhou big seal script with few modifications. However, the body of epigraphic evidence comparing the character forms used by scribes gives no indication of any real consolidation in character forms prior to
2328-402: Is still maintained. Initially, the Singapore dollar was pegged to the pound sterling at a rate of two shillings and four pence to the dollar, or £1 = S$ 60/7 or S$ 8.57; in turn, £1 = US$ 2.80 from 1949 to 1967 so that US$ 1 = S$ 3.06. This peg to sterling was broken in 1967 when the pound was devalued to US$ 2.40 but the peg to the U.S. dollar of US$ 1 = S$ 3.06 was retained. This peg remained for
2425-547: Is used instead of 叠 in regions using traditional characters. The Chinese government stated that it wished to keep Chinese orthography stable. The Chart of Generally Utilized Characters of Modern Chinese was published in 1988 and included 7000 simplified and unsimplified characters. Of these, half were also included in the revised List of Commonly Used Characters in Modern Chinese , which specified 2500 common characters and 1000 less common characters. In 2009,
2522-670: The Chinese language , with the other being traditional characters . Their mass standardization during the 20th century was part of an initiative by the People's Republic of China (PRC) to promote literacy, and their use in ordinary circumstances on the mainland has been encouraged by the Chinese government since the 1950s. They are the official forms used in mainland China and Singapore , while traditional characters are officially used in Hong Kong , Macau , and Taiwan . Simplification of
2619-601: The OCBC Centre . OCBC has total assets of S$ 581 billion at the end of 2023, making it the second largest bank in Southeast Asia by assets. It is also one of the world’s most highly- rated banks, with an Aa1 rating from Moody’s and AA− rating from Standard & Poor's . OCBC is consistently ranked amongst the top three "safest banks in the world" by the magazine Global Finance . The Asian Banker named OCBC as Singapore's strongest bank for 2018-2019, and
2716-730: The President of Singapore , considers suitable for inclusion. In 2017, the government, in the second reading of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (Amendment) Bill 2017, announced that the Currency Fund will be merged with other funds of the MAS, because the currency in circulation is effectively backed by the full financial strength and assets of MAS, which is much larger than the Currency Fund. As at 31 March 2017, MAS's assets (S$ 395 billion) were more than seven times larger than
2813-732: The Straits Settlements (of which Singapore used to be part) issued its local equivalent, the Straits dollar . This was replaced by the Malayan dollar , and, from 1953, the Malaya and British Borneo dollar , which were issued by the Board of Commissioners of Currency, Malaya and British Borneo . Singapore continued to use the common currency upon joining Malaysia in 1963 and after Singapore's independence from Malaysia in 1965, but
2910-465: The "Dot" stroke : The traditional components ⺥ and 爫 become ⺈ : The traditional component 奐 becomes 奂 : Singapore dollar The Singapore dollar ( sign : S$ ; code : SGD ) is the official currency of the Republic of Singapore . It is divided into 100 cents ( Malay : sen , Chinese : 分 ; pinyin : fēn , Tamil : காசு , romanized: kācu ). It
3007-459: The "external appearances of individual graphs", and in graphical form ( 字体 ; 字體 ; zìtǐ ), "overall changes in the distinguishing features of graphic[al] shape and calligraphic style, [...] in most cases refer[ring] to rather obvious and rather substantial changes". The initiatives following the founding of the Qin dynasty (221–206 BC) to universalize the use of their small seal script across
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3104-468: The $ 25 note was replaced by the $ 20 note. Each note features a bird on the left side of the note's front, a theme selected to represent a young Singapore "ever ready to take flight to greater heights". Standard on each note, is the Coat of Arms , a lion head watermark, and the signature of the Minister for Finance and chairman of the BCCS, on the front of the note. As an added security feature, all notes have
3201-482: The 1986 General List of Simplified Chinese Characters , hereafter the General List . All characters simplified this way are enumerated in Chart 1 and Chart 2 in the 1986 Complete List . Characters in both charts are structurally simplified based on similar set of principles. They are separated into two charts to clearly mark those in Chart 2 as 'usable as simplified character components', based on which Chart 3
3298-520: The 1986 mainland China revisions. Unlike in mainland China, Singapore parents have the option of registering their children's names in traditional characters. Malaysia also promulgated a set of simplified characters in 1981, though completely identical to the mainland Chinese set. They are used in Chinese-language schools. All characters simplified this way are enumerated in Charts 1 and 2 of
3395-592: The 5th strongest in the Asia–Pacific region. The bank's global network has grown to comprise more than 400 branches and representative offices in 19 countries and regions. These include 199 office networks in Indonesia under subsidiary Bank OCBC NISP , and over 60 branches and offices in Mainland China , Hong Kong and Macau under OCBC China, OCBC Bank (Hong Kong) and OCBC Bank (Macau) respectively. OCBC
3492-495: The Board of Commissioners of Currency, Singapore (BCCS) merged with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), which took over the responsibility of banknote issuance. As of 2012, the total currency in circulation was S$ 57.278 billion. All issued Singapore currency in circulation (notes and coins) are fully backed by external assets in its Currency Fund to maintain public confidence. Such external assets consists of all or any of
3589-470: The Chinese government published a major revision to the list which included a total of 8300 characters. No new simplifications were introduced. In addition, slight modifications to the orthography of 44 characters to fit traditional calligraphic rules were initially proposed, but were not implemented due to negative public response. Also, the practice of unrestricted simplification of rare and archaic characters by analogy using simplified radicals or components
3686-773: The Currency Interchangeability Agreement between the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Autoriti Monetari Brunei Darussalam (Monetary Authority of Brunei Darussalam). Likewise, the Brunei dollar is also customarily accepted in Singapore. The Spanish-American silver dollar brought over by the Manila galleons was in wide circulation in Asia and the Americas from the 16th to 19th centuries. From 1845 to 1945
3783-678: The Japanese Occupation. By April 1942 most banks, including OCBC, had resumed normal operations. In Indonesia, the Japanese occupation authorities closed OCBC's branches in Sumatra. During the war, the bank moved its head office to Bombay, India and only re-registered back in Singapore after the war ended. OCBC's branch in Xiamen survived the war and in the 1950s, OCBC was one of only four foreign banks to have branches in China. After
3880-649: The Middle East and Europe, as well as global Non-Resident Indians. Singapore Island Bank was formerly known as Bank of Singapore which housed the division, finatiQ, set up by OCBC Bank in 2000 as a self-service online bank during the dot-com bubble . On 29 January 2010, OCBC completed its acquisition of ING Asia Private Bank and renamed it Bank of Singapore. Therefore, OCBC renamed the bank that housed finatiQ, Singapore Island Bank to differentiate these two separate businesses to avoid confusion. As an online-only service provider of OCBC Bank, finatiQ could no longer meet
3977-482: The Minister for Finance and chairman of the BCCS, on the front of the note. As an added security feature, all notes have at least one vertically embedded security thread, while the $ 10,000 note has two. The Bird Series of currency notes is the second set of notes to be issued for circulation in Singapore. Issued in the years 1976 to 1984, it has nine denominations, the same number as in the Orchid Series , albeit
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4074-416: The Monetary Authority of Singapore launched a set of six commemorative notes. These commemorative notes comprise five S$ 10 polymer notes and a S$ 50 note. The note design's draw inspiration from significant milestones and achievements in Singapore's history, the multiracialism that defines the nation and the values and aspirations that underpin Singapore's progress. The front of both the $ 50 and $ 10 notes feature
4171-859: The Singapore Exchange Derivatives Trading Limited (SGX-DT). It was established in 1986. In 2004, OCBC acquired Great Eastern Holdings (GEH) following a voluntary cash offer. GEH had S$ 53.1 billion in assets and 3.8 million policyholders as at 30 September 2010. GEH operates two distribution channels – the tied agency force and bancassurance. The company also operates in Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei. On 19 June 2023, OCBC upped its stake in insurance arm Great Eastern Holdings to 88.4%. In September 2005, OCBC Asset Management Limited (the asset management arm of OCBC Bank) and Straits Lion Asset Management Limited (the asset management arm of Great Eastern) merged to form Lion Capital Management. In 2008, Lion Capital Management
4268-471: The assets of the Currency Fund (S$ 55 billion). The proposed amendment will merge the Currency Fund with the other funds of MAS and streamline MAS's operations. The Government has said that its support for the currency in circulation, as set out in the Currency Act, remains unchanged. Singapore's foreign reserves officially stood at over US$ 288.2 billion, as of July 2022 according to the MAS. In 1967,
4365-438: The background and purpose of transactions that were not consistent with its knowledge of the customer, or were unusually large and exhibited an unusual pattern that had no apparent economic purpose. The bank also failed to probe into the customer’s ownership and control structure when its declared beneficial owner was not named in its corporate registration documents. On 28 August 2023, OCBC's banking services were disrupted by
4462-675: The bank to send unsolicited SMSes and dupe victims into handing over their online banking log-in details. OCBC later announced in January 2022 that it will make "full goodwill payouts" to all victims. In June 2023, OCBC was fined S$ 600,000 by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) for breaching anti- money laundering and anti- terrorism financing rules, in a matter related to the German payments provider Wirecard scandal between June 2015 and January 2016 relating to accounts maintained by one corporate customer. OCBC had failed to inquire into
4559-789: The bank's services were affected by "intermittent technical issues" around noontime. The services affected included digital banking services, fund transfer services, PayNow services, and SMS one-time passcode services. According to media reports, some OCBC customers who contacted the bank's customer support were told that the service was fine, and were advised to uninstall and reinstall the app. The services were restored at about 2.30pm. On 1 September 2024, at about 11.50am, OCBC acknowledged that some users were having difficulties using its internet and mobile banking services. Some users reported being unable to make payments, such as via PayNow. The bank stated that no customer data had been compromised and its customers' funds remained safe. It announced at 3.22pm that
4656-428: The character set are altered. Some simplifications were based on popular cursive forms that embody graphic or phonetic simplifications of the traditional forms. In addition, variant characters with identical pronunciation and meaning were reduced to a single standardized character, usually the simplest among all variants in form. Finally, many characters were left untouched by simplification and are thus identical between
4753-407: The chosen variants, those that appear in the "Complete List of Simplified Characters" are also simplified in character structure accordingly. Some examples follow: Sample reduction of equivalent variants : Ancient variants with simple structure are preferred : Simpler vulgar forms are also chosen : The chosen variant was already simplified in Chart 1 : In some instances, the chosen variant
4850-473: The country's writing system as a serious impediment to its modernization. In 1916, a multi-part English-language article entitled "The Problem of the Chinese Language" co-authored by the Chinese linguist Yuen Ren Chao (1892–1982) and poet Hu Shih (1891–1962) has been identified as a turning point in the history of the Chinese script—as it was one of the first clear calls for China to move away from
4947-569: The demands of an increasingly complex banking and monetary environment necessitated streamlining the functions to facilitate the development of a more dynamic and coherent policy on monetary matters. Therefore, the Parliament of Singapore passed the Monetary Authority of Singapore Act in 1970, leading to the formation of MAS on 1 January 1971. The MAS Act gave the MAS the authority to regulate all elements of monetary, banking, and financial aspects of Singapore. From 1985 onwards, Singapore adopted
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#17327939912155044-476: The early 20th century. In 1909, the educator and linguist Lufei Kui formally proposed the use of simplified characters in education for the first time. Over the following years—marked by the 1911 Xinhai Revolution that toppled the Qing dynasty , followed by growing social and political discontent that further erupted into the 1919 May Fourth Movement —many anti-imperialist intellectuals throughout China began to see
5141-634: The first official list of simplified forms was published, consisting of 324 characters collated by Peking University professor Qian Xuantong . However, fierce opposition within the KMT resulted in the list being rescinded in 1936. Work throughout the 1950s resulted in the 1956 promulgation of the Chinese Character Simplification Scheme , a draft of 515 simplified characters and 54 simplified components, whose simplifications would be present in most compound characters. Over
5238-463: The first round—but was massively unpopular and never saw consistent use. The second round of simplifications was ultimately retracted officially in 1986, well after they had largely ceased to be used due to their unpopularity and the confusion they caused. In August 2009, China began collecting public comments for a revised list of simplified characters; the resulting List of Commonly Used Standard Chinese Characters lists 8,105 characters, including
5335-462: The first series of coins was introduced in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 20 and 50 cents and 1 dollar. These coins depicted wildlife and other images relating to the island nation and were designed by Stuart Devlin , the same artist credited for the 1966 designs on Australia's decimal coin series. The sizes were the same as those used for the Malaysian ringgit and based directly on the old coinage of
5432-475: The following decade, the Script Reform Committee deliberated on characters in the 1956 scheme, collecting public input regarding the recognizability of variants, and often approving forms in small batches. Parallel to simplification, there were also initiatives aimed at eliminating the use of characters entirely and replacing them with pinyin as an official Chinese alphabet, but this possibility
5529-460: The following: (a) gold and silver in any form; (b) foreign exchange in the form of demand or time deposits; bank balances and money at call; Treasury Bills; notes or coins; (c) securities of or guaranteed by foreign governments or international financial institutions; (d) equities; (e) corporate bonds; (f) currency and financial futures; (g) any other asset which the Authority, with the approval of
5626-499: The formal monetary union between Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei stopped in 1967, and Singapore established the Board of Commissioners of Currency, Singapore (BCCS), on 7 April 1967 and issued its first coins and notes. Nevertheless, the Singapore dollar was exchangeable at par with the Malaysian ringgit until 8 May 1973 under the Interchangeability Agreement, and interchangeability with the Brunei dollar
5723-475: The former Malaya and British Borneo dollar . The 1-cent coin was bronze while the other denominations were copper-nickel. Later, in 1976, the 1-cent coin was changed to copper-clad steel. The production of the first series was phased out by 1985. In 1985, the second series of coins were introduced in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 20 and 50 cents and 1 dollar. The reverse of these coins were designed by Christopher Ironside. The new series offered smaller coins depicting
5820-459: The founding of the Qin. The Han dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD) that inherited the Qin administration coincided with the perfection of clerical script through the process of libian . Eastward spread of Western learning Though most closely associated with the People's Republic, the idea of a mass simplification of character forms first gained traction in China during
5917-594: The growing needs of the bank's customers and had ceased business on 30 June 2011. In 2004, OCBC Bank acquired a 22.5% stake in PT Bank NISP Tbk ("Bank NISP"), its joint-venture partner in PT OCBC Indonesia since 1996. With the completion of this transaction, Bank NISP became an associate company of OCBC Bank. Bank NISP was ranked the 11th largest Indonesian bank by assets and had a network of 135 branches and offices and, over 3,000 shared ATMs . In
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#17327939912156014-423: The higher denomination notes (beyond $ 100) will continue to remain legal tender. Commemorative banknotes are also released, usually in limited quantities. The first commemorative banknote was released on 24 July 1990 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Singapore's independence . Of the 5.1 million $ 50 polymer banknotes issued, 300,000 came with an overprint of the anniversary date "9 August 1990". This $ 50 note
6111-466: The increased usage of 朙 was followed by proliferation of a third variant: 眀 , with 目 'eye' on the left—likely derived as a contraction of 朙 . Ultimately, 明 became the character's standard form. The Book of Han (111 AD) describes an earlier attempt made by King Xuan of Zhou ( d. 782 BC ) to unify character forms across the states of ancient China , with his chief chronicler having "[written] fifteen chapters describing" what
6208-587: The largest financial institution with the biggest deposit base in Singapore. By the end of 1981, OCBC’s total assets had grown to over S$ 7 billion. In December 1972, OCBC acquired Four Seas Communications Bank, the oldest surviving Chinese bank in Singapore. The bank had been founded in 1906 as the Sze Hai Tong Bank and its founders had targeted the Teochew community. In 1976, the landmark OCBC Centre , designed by renowned American architect I. M. Pei ,
6305-465: The left, with the 月 'Moon' component on the right. Li Si ( d. 208 BC ), the Chancellor of Qin, attempted to universalize the Qin small seal script across China following the wars that had politically unified the country for the first time. Li prescribed the 朙 form of the word for 'bright', but some scribes ignored this and continued to write the character as 明 . However,
6402-402: The most prominent Chinese authors of the 20th century, stated that "if Chinese characters are not destroyed, then China will die" ( 漢字不滅，中國必亡 ). During the 1930s and 1940s, discussions regarding simplification took place within the ruling Kuomintang (KMT) party. Many members of the Chinese intelligentsia maintained that simplification would increase literacy rates throughout the country. In 1935,
6499-529: The name of the child, but would only be operable "within boundaries and controls set by parents". The ten largest shareholders as of 8 March 2021 were: * Percentage is calculated based on the total number of issued ordinary shares, excluding treasury shares. OCBC Securities Private Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of OCBC Bank, and is a member of the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited (SGX-ST) and
6596-483: The needs of the post-war Chinese business community, especially in the smaller towns of Malaya. One of the critics was Tan Sri Khoo Teck Puat (then deputy general manager) who resigned in 1959 after failing to be appointed to the bank’s board of directors, and subsequently set up Malayan Banking in Kuala Lumpur in 1960 with 80 former OCBC staff. By 1970, OCBC's total assets exceeded S$ 1 billion , making OCBC
6693-425: The obverse, and the reverse depicts a feature of civic virtue. There are both paper and polymer notes in circulation. The designs of the polymer notes are very similar to the corresponding paper note except for the slightly slippery feel and a small transparent window design in the corner of the banknote. Polymer notes are progressively replacing the paper banknotes in circulation. The notes also have Braille patterns at
6790-619: The one-dollar, now a bi-metallic coin featuring the Merlion , the fifty cents coin featuring the Port of Singapore , the twenty-cent coin depicts Changi International Airport , the ten-cent coin featuring public housing and the five-cent coin featuring the Esplanade . The second and third series of Singaporean coins have medallic orientation . The Orchid Series of currency notes is the earliest to be in for circulation in Singapore. Issued in
6887-630: The opening of Xiamen branch, after which it has been operating without interruption in mainland China for nearly 100 years. In 2007, OCBC Group incorporated its local entity in Shanghai. In 2014, OCBC Group completed acquisition of the former Wing Hang Bank and established OCBC Wing Hang China on 18 July 2016. The bank officially changed its name to OCBC Bank Limited and launched OCBC China as its new brand name on 6 December 2023. In March 2014, OCBC Bank offered to pay nearly US$ 5 Billion for Wing Hang Bank , one of Hong Kong's last family-owned banks. Wing Hang
6984-430: The public and quickly fell out of official use. It was ultimately formally rescinded in 1986. The second-round simplifications were unpopular in large part because most of the forms were completely new, in contrast to the familiar variants comprising the majority of the first round. With the rescission of the second round, work toward further character simplification largely came to an end. In 1986, authorities retracted
7081-465: The recently conquered parts of the empire is generally seen as being the first real attempt at script reform in Chinese history. Before the 20th century, variation in character shape on the part of scribes, which would continue with the later invention of woodblock printing , was ubiquitous. For example, prior to the Qin dynasty (221–206 BC) the character meaning 'bright' was written as either 明 or 朙 —with either 日 'Sun' or 囧 'window' on
7178-702: The risk of money laundering, with all banks instructed to exchange the notes with MAS and not recirculate them. This is a trend in many countries like European Central Bank 's discontinuation of the 500- euro banknote in 2016 and AMBD's announcement to stop the production and issuance of the B$ 10,000 (the largest banknote) in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic . MAS would also stop producing the S$ 1,000 banknote as well from 1 January 2021 onwards, but banks would be allowed to recirculate existing notes with customers. The MAS said that
7275-481: The same set of simplified characters as mainland China. The first round was promulgated by the Ministry of Education in 1969, consisting of 498 simplified characters derived from 502 traditional characters. A second round of 2287 simplified characters was promulgated in 1974. The second set contained 49 differences from the mainland China system; these were removed in the final round in 1976. In 1993, Singapore adopted
7372-477: The same year, OCBC Bank purchased an additional 28.5% stake in Bank NISP, raising its shareholding in Bank NISP to 51%. OCBC Bank subsequently raised its stake to 70.62% in 2005. By 2008, it had increased its stake in Bank NISP to 74.73%. In 2008, Bank NISP changed its name to Bank OCBC NISP. As of 30 September 2010, Bank OCBC NISP had 5,995 employees, total assets of Rp 40.2 trillion, and served customers through
7469-467: The second round completely, though they had been largely fallen out of use within a year of their initial introduction. That year, the authorities also promulgated a final version of the General List of Simplified Chinese Characters . It was identical to the 1964 list save for 6 changes—including the restoration of 3 characters that had been simplified in the first round: 叠 , 覆 , 像 ; the form 疊
7566-613: The serial number is replaced with a Millennium 2000 logo. These millennium notes are printed on paper as polymer notes were not introduced yet then. On 27 June 2007, to commemorate 40 years of currency agreement with Brunei, a commemorative S$ 20 note was launched; the back is identical to the Bruneian $ 20 note launched simultaneously. A circulation version of the $ 20 note can be exchanged at banks in Singapore beginning 16 July 2007, limited to two pieces per transaction. On 18 August 2015, to commemorate Singapore's 50 years of nation-building,
7663-557: The services had returned to normal. On 28 September 2024, it was reported that some internet and mobile banking users were not able to view their account balances and transaction history, or could not log in or carry out transactions. OCBC acknowledged at 5.03pm that day that there was a disruption to its services. It subsequently announced at 7.04pm that its internet and mobile banking services were restored. Simplified Chinese characters Simplified Chinese characters are one of two standardized character sets widely used to write
7760-491: The then Malaysian prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi , and in July the same year, OCBC opened an off-shore branch in Brunei . On 11 May 2017, OCBC entered into an agreement to acquire National Australia Bank ’s private wealth business in Singapore and Hong Kong. The acquisition was completed in November 2017. The deposits and mortgages booked in Hong Kong was transferred to OCBC Bank (Hong Kong) while those booked in Singapore
7857-418: The top right-hand corner of the front design. The S$ 10,000 and B$ 10,000 note are the world's most valuable banknotes (that are officially in circulation). As of August 2011, it is worth over seven times as much as the next most valuable, the 1,000- Swiss franc note. On 2 July 2014, the Monetary Authority of Singapore announced that it would stop printing $ 10,000 notes starting from 1 October 2014 to reduce
7954-497: The traditional and simplified Chinese orthographies. The Chinese government has never officially announced the completion of the simplification process after the bulk of characters were introduced by the 1960s. In the wake of the Cultural Revolution , a second round of simplified characters was promulgated in 1977—largely composed of entirely new variants intended to artificially lower the stroke count, in contrast to
8051-833: The traditional character 強 , with 11 strokes is standardised as 强 , with 12 strokes, which is a variant character. Such characters do not constitute simplified characters. The new standardized character forms shown in the Characters for Publishing and revised through the Common Modern Characters list tend to adopt vulgar variant character forms. Since the new forms take vulgar variants, many characters now appear slightly simpler compared to old forms, and as such are often mistaken as structurally simplified characters. Some examples follow: The traditional component 釆 becomes 米 : The traditional component 囚 becomes 日 : The traditional "Break" stroke becomes
8148-522: The use of characters entirely. Instead, Chao proposed that the language be written with an alphabet, which he saw as more logical and efficient. The alphabetization and simplification campaigns would exist alongside one another among the Republican intelligentsia for the next several decades. Recent commentators have echoed some contemporary claims that Chinese characters were blamed for the economic problems in China during that time. Lu Xun , one of
8245-521: The war, OCBC re-established its branches in Jambi , Jakarta , and Surabaya . However, the 1963 conflict between Indonesia and Malaysia (which then included Singapore) resulted in the closure of OCBC's branches there. That same year the revolutionary government in Burma nationalized OCBC's two branches there, which became People's Bank No. 14. The bank was criticized for not expanding fast enough to meet
8342-400: The years 1967 to 1976, it has nine denominations: $ 1, $ 5, $ 10, $ 25, $ 50, $ 100, $ 500, $ 1,000, and $ 10,000. Each note has an orchid design in the centre of the note's front, the orchid being the national flower of Singapore. A scene of Singapore is depicted on the back, which varies across denominations. Standard on each note, is the Coat of Arms , a lion head watermark, and the signature of
8439-464: Was abandoned, confirmed by a speech given by Zhou Enlai in 1958. In 1965, the PRC published the List of Commonly Used Characters for Printing [ zh ] (hereafter Characters for Printing ), which included standard printed forms for 6196 characters, including all of the forms from the 1956 scheme. A second round of simplified characters was promulgated in 1977, but was poorly received by
8536-405: Was adopted, and progressively shows across the various denominations, the different kinds of ships which have plied Singapore's waters as the country developed. These vignettes are located on the front of the note. On the back, various scenes depicting Singapore's achievements are shown, as well as an orchid , to symbolise the country's national flower. Standard on each note, is the Coat of Arms ,
8633-426: Was awarded World's Best Bank (Asia-Pacific) in 2019 by Global Finance Magazine. On 31 October 1932, three banks – Chinese Commercial Bank (1912), Ho Hong Bank (1917), and Oversea-Chinese Bank (1919) – merged and consolidated their strengths to form Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation under the leadership of Hoklos Tan Ean Kiam (co-founder and managing director of Oversea-Chinese Bank) and Lee Kong Chian , who
8730-547: Was completed and serves as OCBC's current headquarters. On 9 May 1989, OCBC took on a new corporate identity by changing its logo and its name to OCBC Bank. The next major acquisition occurred in August 2001, when OCBC acquired Keppel Capital Holdings and all its subsidiaries, including Keppel TatLee Bank , Keppel Securities, and Keppel TatLee Finance. By February 2002, both OCBC and Keppel TatLee banks were operationally and legally integrated. On 25 June 2004, OCBC Bank established
8827-422: Was renamed as Lion Global Investors. The Brunei Branch of Lion Global Investors also began operations. Lion Global Investors had total assets under management of S$ 69.9 billion as at 31 March 2023. Lion Global Investors Limited is 70% owned by Great Eastern Holdings Limited and 30% owned by Orient Holdings Private Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of OCBC Bank. Bank of Singapore, (formerly ING Asia Private Bank),
8924-539: Was taken out of circulation in 2002. On 21 February 2013, the Monetary Authority of Singapore announced a new series of coins in denominations of 5, 10, 20, 50 cents and 1 dollar, which went into circulation on 25 June 2013, featuring Singapore's national icons and landmarks. The coins are struck on a multi-ply plated-steel planchet used by the Royal Canadian Mint and comes with enhanced features to differentiate from fakes. The coins also feature new designs,
9021-729: Was the eighth-largest lender in Hong Kong. Under the Hong Kong Companies Ordinance, OCBC Bank, with 97.52 percent of Wing Hang's shares, compulsorily acquired Wing Hang on 29 July 2014. On 1 October 2014, Wing Hang Bank was rebranded as OCBC Wing Hang Bank to reflect its integration into the OCBC family. On 3 July 2023, OCBC Wing Hang Bank Limited has further changed its name to "OCBC Bank (Hong Kong) Limited" and in Macau, "Banco OCBC Weng Hang, S.A." has changed its name to "Banco OCBC (Macau), S.A." . "Wing Hang" or "Weng Hang"
9118-772: Was the first Singapore-based Islamic Bank established in Malaysia in 2008 to provide a full range of Shariah-compliant financial solutions based on the applicable Shariah contract and with the endorsement of the Shariah Advisory Committee. Headquartered in Shanghai , OCBC China employs around 1,500 staff at its head office and 16 branches and sub-branches across 14 cities in China's mainland, covering Shanghai, Suzhou , Shaoxing , Shenzhen , Guangzhou , Foshan , Xiamen , Zhuhai , Chongqing , Chengdu , Wuhan , Beijing , Tianjin and Qingdao . OCBC Group established its first presence in mainland China in 1925 with
9215-408: Was the first commemorative note issued by the BCCS and was also the first polymer banknote in the history of Singapore's currency. In addition, the $ 50 note was the first note designed in Singapore by a Singapore artist. On 8 December 1999, to celebrate the coming 2000 millennium, three million $ 2 millennium notes were circulated. The note is similar to the $ 2 portrait series, except that the prefix of
9312-461: Was then vice-chairman of Chinese Commercial Bank. Lee played a central role in leading the amalgamation and is affectionately known today as the "founding father" of OCBC Bank. When OCBC began operation in February 1933, it was already one of the strongest local banks in the Straits Settlements . In 1942 during World War II , all the local banks in Singapore closed briefly during the early days of
9409-682: Was transferred to OCBC Bank. In March 2020, OCBC announced its partnership with Xero , a New Zealand -based cloud accounting software, to help small and medium-sized enterprise customers digitise their operations. In July 2020, OCBC launched HealthPass, a healthcare mobile application that aims to connect patients with medical doctors in Singapore via online consultation. On 3 September 2024, OCBC announced that it would soon allow children aged 7 to 15 (which it described as "Generation Alpha") to have their own bank account, operate their bank account digitally, and to have their own debit card. It stated that this OCBC MyOwn Account would be registered solely in
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