 The Business Times named Wee Singapore's Businessman of the Year for 1990 and again in 2001, and the ASEAN Business Forum named him its ASEAN Businessman of the Year in 1995.While a critic of the government's plan to liberalise Singapore's banking sector and allow foreign banks more market access in the 1990s, Wee restructured UOB's operations to meet the increased competition and to continue the bank's expansion in the region.In June 2001, UOB acquired the Overseas Union Bank (OUB) in a S$10 billion cash-and-shares deal.