Bill Wyllie

Bill Wyllie (c. 1932 - 13 March 2006) was a Western Australian businessman who was best known for his career as a "corporate doctor" in Hong Kong; and most notably for his role in setting up Hutchison Whampoa. In 2003, Australia's Business Review Weekly estimated that his personal wealth was approximately $450 million. The Wyllie Group, which he founded in 1991, has interests in mining and real estate, as well as formerly having a minority interest in the Burswood Casino.

Wyllie was born in Perth in the early 1930s. His parents divorced when he was eight, and he spent a brief period in an orphanage while his mother looked for work in the country areas of Western Australia. His mother rented a small house at Scarborough, Western Australia in 1942. At the age of 11, Wyllie successfully applied for a job as a post boy at 15 shillings a week.

He left school at the age of 13, and worked in timber mills while studying to be a motor mechanic. After gaining qualifications as a mechanic, he successfully completed correspondence courses in automotive and aeronautical engineering.

In 1952, he joined Wearne Brothers, an Australian automotive and heavy equipment distribution company working from Singapore learning business skills. He was also a successful racing car driver, with a car that he built himself. The Singapore Straits Times sponsored his entry in the 1958 Macau Grand Prix where he made friends with one of his sponsors Bob Harper, who was an American man, based in Hong Kong.

Harper advised Wyllie that his automotive business was struggling at the Macau Grand Prix of 1963. He invited Wyllie to review its operations, resulting in Wyllie recommending that the company be restructured and staffing levels reduced. His proposals were agreed to by creditors, including a moratorium on repayments. Wyllie was appointed as Managing Director, receiving a third of the shares.

The company returned to profitability and was renamed as Harpers International. By 1968, the company had become Hong Kong's most successful automotive distributor and had branched into finance. In 1972, Harpers International was sold to Sime Darby Limited for $HK146 million, forming part of China Engineers Limited, which was a publicly traded company that was controlled by Sime Darby.

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