Choong Lye Hock was a prominent rice miller, oil miller, and trader in Penang from the late 19th century to the mid-20th century. His ancestral roots traced back to Tong’an, Fujian, and he was born in Penang in 1882 as the eldest son of Choong Cheng Kean, a well-known rice and revenue farmer in Penang. From a young age, Choong Lye Hock trained under his father in business, eventually becoming the second-generation successor of the Choong family enterprise. After Choong Cheng Kean established a strong commercial foothold in Kedah, Choong Lye Hock and his younger brother, Choong Lye Hin, continued the family’s business expansion by founding Hock Hin Bros. Company. After 1930, the Choong brothers extended their rice milling operations across Kedah, Penang, and Perak, establishing five major rice mills: Ban Hock Bee (Penang), Ban Heng Bee (Penang), Ban Heng Bee (Alor Setar, Kedah), Ban Keen Bee (Parit Buntar, Perak), and Ban Eng Bee (Nibong Tebal, Province Wellesley). Among them, Ban Hock Bee and Ban Heng Bee, along with Cheng Law Company (founded by Lim Cheng Law), were the only three modernized rice mills in Penang. By 1934, the modernized rice mills operated by Hock Hin Bros. Company could produce 2,000 bags of rice per day—equivalent to the combined production of 14 other rice mills in Kedah. As a result, the Choong brothers successfully controlled the rice milling industry and rice trade network in northern Malaya, becoming leading figures in the region’s rice milling sector. Beyond the rice industry, Choong Lye Hock also owned rubber and coconut plantations and was involved in rubber processing. He also served as a director of the Eastern & Oriental Hotel in Penang. Additionally, he was a leader in numerous social organizations, including the Ch'ng Si Soo Bee Tong, the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, the Chun Gi Siah, the Tong Kheng Siah, the Yan Who Seh, the Corner Club, Cheng Hong Kok, and Kwong Fook Chu. In the field of education, he co-funded the establishment of Penang Phor Thay School alongside notable figures such as Aw Boon Haw, Aw Boon Par, and Lim Lean Teng.He also served as a board member of the Fukien Girls' School (currently known as Penang Chinese Girls' High School). In recognition of his contributions, a road in Tanjung Tokong, Penang, was named Jalan Choong Lye Hock in his honor. Reference/ Further Reading Biographies of Prominent Personalities in Nanyang Wu, Xiao-An. 2010. Chinese Business in the Making of a Malay State, 1882-1941: Kedah and Penang. Singapore: NUS Press. Yong Weng Woe. 2018. The Evolution of Position of the Chinese in the Malayan’s Rice Milling before the Second World War. Xiamen: Unpublished doctoral's thesis, Research School for Southeast Asian Studies, Xiamen University.