Kwang Pu Chen | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the Legislative Yuan | |
| In office 1948–1951 | |
| Constituency | Jiangsu |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 17 December 1881 Zhenjiang, Jiangsu, Qing Empire |
| Died | 1 July 1976 (aged 94) Taipei, Republic of China |
| Parent |
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| Alma mater | Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania |
| Known for | Founder of Shanghai Commercial and Savings Bank Founder of Shanghai Commercial Bank |
Kwang Pu Chen[1] (Chinese: 陳光甫; pinyin: Chén Guāngfǔ; 1880 – July 1976) was a Shanghai-based Chinese banker and State Councillor. He was the founder of the first modern Chinese savings bank, the Shanghai Commercial and Savings Bank, the Shanghai Commercial Bank, a travel agency, as well as the China Assurance Corporation Ltd.
He was one of China's most successful entrepreneurs in the twentieth century, particularly influential in the financial and business world of Shanghai. He played a key role in negotiating financial aid from the United States in 1937-1940, working with Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau.[2]
Linsun Cheng, in his Banking in Modern China: Entrepreneurs, Professional Managers, and the Development of Chinese, says, "It is almost impossible to describe any significant innovation in the history of modern Chinese banks without mentioning K. P. Chen's name."
- ^ "Kwang Pu Chen papers, 1936-1968". www.columbia.edu.
- ^ Yuwu Song, ed., Encyclopedia of Chinese-American Relations (McFarland, 2009) pp 52-53.