RALPH Chen, a retired advocater for minority shareholders of several publicly listed companies of Jamaica, was remembered last week as an optimistic man who had a deep concern for the development and growth of Jamaica’s small and medium businesses.

Chen, 67, was well known for his useful advice, business ethics and his unwavering concern for the development and growth of Jamaican companies.

Chen died on December 5 last year.

A thanksgiving service in honour of his life was held at the St Andrew’s Scots Kirk United Church in downtown, Kingston, on January 30.

According to Jeffrey Cobham, board member of Sagicor Property Services Limited, Salada Foods Jamaica Limited and PanCaribbean Financial Services Limited ever since he knew him, Chen’s main concern has always been about the development and growth of the publicly listed companies of Jamaica.

“He had a keen interest in the Jamaican business environment, particularly in publicly listed companies. As a small shareholder in many companies, he made it his duty to attend Annual General Meetings. His prior scrutiny of annual reports enabled him to stand up in these meetings, raise questions and make comments and suggestions about a variety of issues,” Cobham said.

Cobham is one of several businessmen whom Chen would interact with during his years of attending shareholder meetings of Jamaica’s publicly listed companies.

“Ralph consistently tried to represent the interests of minority shareholders and was never reluctant to express his opinions. Notably, he strongly espoused the cause of greater female representation on the boards of companies. And he was also a proponent of companies allocating some part of their budget to social causes in Jamaica; not merely in the name of public relations, but in order to make a positive difference in the lives of the country’s less fortunate,” he added.

According to Cobham, Chen was a minority shareholder with a giant’s voice, who was never afraid to share his concerns of Jamaica’s business environment, with the smallest business operators to the level of the politicians who sat in Gordon House.

“Ralph once gave former prime minister of Jamaica Bruce Golding a book on political governance.

“When enough time had passed that he considered that the Prime Minister should have read the book, he wrote him a brief letter which stated, ‘Dear Bruce, if you had read the book, you have been a good student. If you have not read the book, then I fear you are a bad student’. The former prime minister replied, thanking Ralph for his continuous interest in Jamaica’s welfare,” Cobham said which the mourners laughed about.

Cobham also said that ,although retired, Chen never seemed to have taken a break from work.

“Ralph spent a lot of time attending seminars and was a voracious and seemingly insatiable reader. He had a library of hundreds of books, primarily on business and management, but with a significant content of books on religion, philosophy and positive thinking. Optimism was undoubtedly Ralph’s strongest attribute,” he said.

Ian Walters, a very close friend of Chen for over a decade, was also full of praise for Chen.

“Mr Ralph Chen was a proactive philanthropist. He worked as an accountant and an external auditor during his earlier career. Later he worked as a freelance accountant. Using trade name Ralph Chen & Associates,” Walters recalled.

Chen was keen on observing the operations of numerous publicly listed companies in Jamaica, such as GraceKennedy Limited, Jamaica Producers Group Limited, Pan-Jamaican Investment Trust Limited, Sagicor Life Jamaica Limited, Salada Foods Jamaica Limited, Supreme Ventures Limited, The Gleaner Company Limited, and The Jamaica Stock Exchange.

Chen is survived by his son, Tristan, and sisters Norma, Ivy and Mabel.

His remains were interred at Dovecot Memorial Gardens in St Catherine.