His donation arose from the perfect timing of his trades of one million AIG shares that he donated to the school.

Mr Oei, 60, had scooped up shares of the embattled American insurer at US$1.80 (S$2.64) a piece on the birthday of Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, who turned 85 on Sept 16.

On Sept 22, he sold the shares at US$5 each - a gain of 177 per cent.

The $7 million from his bold investment will be matched by the Government, so the school's windfall is $14 million.

On why the gift was focussed on Chinese students - the second largest intake after Singaporeans - Mr Oei said, 'The Chinese learn fast...They need to learn a lot of good things about capitalists - integrity, fairness, contribution to the community.'