Robin Loh

Robin Loh
羅新權
Born
Sumatra
NationalitySingapore

Robin SK Loh (Chinese: 羅新權; 1928/29 – 28 August 2010) was a Singaporean businessman and real estate developer. Loh was best known in Australia as the founder of Robina, Queensland, a suburban town on the Gold Coast of Queensland.[1] Robina, which turned 30 in 2010, is considered one of Australia's most successful planned communities.[1] He was also credited as a leading businessman during Singapore's industrialization.[2][3]

Education

Loh obtained a Master of Arts in Asian political science in 1995[4] and subsequently a doctorate from University of California, Berkeley.[5] The University of Berkeley considered his business success as a general degree and allowed him to pursue his degree in the Center for Southeast Asian Studies.[6]

Early life and career

Loh was born in Sumatra,[7] and moved to Singapore during the 1940s at the age of 18.[2][5] He began his career in business by salvaging abandoned U.S. Army military equipment.[5] He also worked as a taxicab driver.[2] In the early 1970s, Loh established the Robin Shipyard in Singapore.[2]

In 1980, Loh purchased 20 square kilometres of grazing land on the southern Gold Coast in Queensland.[1] Loh built the town of Robina, which grew into a planned community with a population of approximately 30,000 people, as of 2010.[1] Loh built a town center with entertainment, parks and healthcare facilities.[1]

In addition to Robina and other real estate holdings, Loh also held interests in research and development, hotels, banking, shipbuilding, manufacturing, shipping and oil rig construction during his career.[1]

Robin Road and Robina House, in Singapore's Shenton Way, are named after Loh.[2]

The government of Malaysia also granted him the title Datuk.[5]

On 28 August 2010, Robin Loh died of breathing difficulties on an international flight from Singapore to Hong Kong, at the age of 81.[1] He had suffered from Parkinson's disease.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "Planned community pioneer and Robina founder Robin Loh dead at 81". The Australian. 30 August 2010. Retrieved 16 September 2010.
  2. ^ a b c d e Kwok, Jonathan (31 August 2010). "Tycoon passes away at 81". The Straits Times. Retrieved 16 September 2010.
  3. ^ "Official Opening of Hitachi Zosen Robin Dockyard's Second Drydock (150,000 DWT)" (PDF).
  4. ^ "TYCOON STUDIES BY DAY, WORKS BY NIGHT". Australian Financial Review. 6 March 1995. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
  5. ^ a b c d "City salutes Indon visitor with vision". Gold Coast Bulletin. 31 August 2010. Retrieved 16 September 2010.
  6. ^ Savage, Victor R; Yeoh, Brenda S.A. (2013). Singapore Street Names: A Study of Toponymics. Marshall Cavendish International Asia Pte Ltd. pp. 326–327. ISBN 978-981-4408-35-6. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
  7. ^ "Obituary: Industrialist dies at 81". Australian Financial Review. 30 August 2010. Retrieved 16 August 2020.