SINGAPORE, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Wee Cho Yaw, ex-chairman of Singapore’s United Overseas Bank Ltd who helped transform the lender into a regional powerhouse, has died at the age of 95, the bank said on Saturday.

Wee, Singapore’s eighth richest according to Forbes, oversaw UOB's growth from a one-branch bank to a regional lender in 19 countries with assets of more than $253 billion at the time of his retirement as chairman in 2013, the lender said in a statement.

UOB is now Southeast Asia’s third largest bank by assets and had $516 billion in assets as at Sept. 30, 2023, the statement added.

“Without doubt, Wee Cho Yaw is one of Singapore’s most successful entrepreneurs,” said UOB Chairman Wong Kan Seng.

“Through hard work, determination, decisiveness and strong Asian values, he built UOB into one of the world’s most admired banks.” (Reporting by Yantoultra Ngui Editing by Shri Navaratnam)