Founded in 1908 by Alfred Hewton Fair, it is the largest and oldest life insurance company in Singapore and Malaysia.

In 2006, the company had assets in excess of S$8 billion, 2.6 million policies in force served by 24 branch offices and a service network of more than 17,000 agents nationwide.

On 19 June 2023, OCBC Bank upped its stake in insurance subsidiary Great Eastern Holdings to 88.4%.

OCBC Bank has assets of S$164 billion and a network of 390 branches and representative offices in 15 countries and territories including Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, China, Hong Kong SAR, Taiwan, Brunei, Myanmar, Japan, Korea, Australia, United Kingdom and the United States.

This new company is headquartered in Chongqing with branches in Shaanxi and Sichuan, which will act as a bridgehead for its expansion plans into the rest of China.