Tan Kim Ching

Kapitan Tan Kim Ching
陳金鐘甲
Kapitan China of Singapore
Preceded by
Constituency	Singapore
Personal details
Born	1829 Malacca
Died	February 1892
Parents	(father) Lee Seo Neo (mother)

Kapitan China Tan Kim Ching (Chinese: 陳金鐘甲; pinyin: Chén Jīnzhōng Jia; Wade–Giles: Chen Chin-chung Chia; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Tân Kim-tsing Kap; a.k.a. Tan Kim Cheng; 1829 – Feb 1892) was a Singaporean politician and businessman. He was the eldest of the three sons of , the founder and financier of . He was consul for Japan, Thailand and Russia, and was a member of the Royal Court of Siam. He was one of Singapore’s leading Chinese merchants and was one of its richest men in Singapore at that time. He was also the first Asian member of the Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. After his father, Tan Tock Seng's death, he became the Kapitan China of the Straits Chinese community. He is believed to have been the Head of the Triad in Malaya.

In his day, Tan Kim Ching was one of Singapore’s leading Chinese merchants, one of the richest men in Singapore and had sizable business interests in Singapore, Siam, Vietnam and Malaya. His business boomed with rice mills he owned in Bangkok and Saigon.

After the death of his father, the name of the firm "" - mainly involved in the rice business - was changed to "Tan Kim Ching". The business was carried on at "River-Side" (now known as Boat Quay) from 1851 to 1859 by Tan Kim Ching as sole owner. In 1860, having admitted his brother Tan Swee Lim as a partner, the firm was known as "Tan Kim Ching & Brother", chop Chin Seng Ho, but a few months later Tan Swee Lim left the firm. The business which finally became known as "Kim Ching & Co." chop Chin Seng (成行) attained considerable success, and he bought rice mills at Saigon, Siam and elsewhere which supplied him with his milled rice. In 1888, the company opened a branch in Hong Kong.

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