Pwee writes: ”This allowed for huge plantations with the accompanying economies of scale to flourish. If the original local owners wanted to continue investing in the plantations, they would accept shares in the London company in lieu of part of the purchase price. Two London-based companies, Bukit Sembawang Rubber Company Limited and Singapore United Rubber Plantations Limited, were formed to acquire the companies of Tan Chay Yan’s coalition in exchange for shares in these London companies.” Tan Chay Yan was the first rubber planter in Malaya and a grandson of Tan Tock Seng.
Bukit Sembawang Estates was founded in 1911 in colonial Singapore. According to Timothy Pwee, senior librarian at the National Library, in an article for BiblioAsia 2021, the area around where Bukit Sembawang owns its legacy landbank was originally a pineapple plantation.
However, rubber became the magic crop. In the early 1900s, British investors acquired Malayan rubber plantations and engaged local agents to manage these companies.
