Timeline

Timeline
1890 : Came to Singapore to work at his father's sundry shop, Chop Soon Ann (Shun'an) Rice Company.
1891 - 1892 & 1894 - 1898 : Takes over the management of Chop Soon Ann, including that of a sago factory and a pineapple factory.
1903 : Family embezzlement led to the decline of his father's business and the closure of Soon Ann.
1904 : Set up a pineapple cannery, Sin Lee Chuan (Xinlichuan) on a limited budget of $7,000 and bought over Jit Sin after his partner dies.
1905 : Purchased 500 acres of jungle land in Singapore, initially for pineapple plantations but in the next year, used for rubber planting, making the Hock Shan Plantation, as it was named, Tan's golden goose. From here, Tan launched into the rubber business.
1906 : From the profits of his pineapple cannery, he set up Khiam Aik (Qianyi) Rice Mills.
1917 : Khiam Aik was converted into a rubber mill.
1919 - 1925 : Founded Tan Kah Kee Co. in 1919 and business peaked during this period with his empire stretching to Thailand and beyond to China. In the 1920's, he was known as the "Henry Ford of Malaya".
1920 : With help from his brother, Tan Keng Hean, the company set up the Sumbawa Rubber Manufacturer, a manufacturing complex at Sumbawa Road, creating various rubber goods from toys to tyres.
1925 : Tan Kah Kee & Co. was valued at an estimated S$7.8 million and noted as a pioneer in industrial development in Southeast Asia.
1929 - 1931 : The impact of the Great Depression affected Tan's company. The bank required that the organisation convert to a limited company.
Feb 1934 : Tan Kah Kee Ltd wound up after conflicts between the board and Tan concerning the rubber business. Despite major losses, Tan continues to finance the various schools he had thus far supported.
1942 : Escaped to Java, Indonesia, during World War II.
1950 : Retired to Jimei.