Founder Ng Kar Cheong’s first taste of entrepreneurship was in hawking youtiao* as a 10-year-old child in war-torn Singapore.

It was 1944. Ng’s father could not find work. The eldest of eight children, Ng used his wits to hawk youtiao on the streets, reselling the snack at 3 cents a stick. It was good money. He did well, replenishing bundles of 50 sticks at a time. The enterprising child was happy that he could help feed the family.

Born into poverty in Fujian, China, Ng’s parents and grandmother had made the long voyage to Singapore in search of a better life. Instead, he had to grow up quickly in the turmoil of the newly-independent Singapore in the 1950s.

^{*油條, yu char kuey, fried dough strips or the Chinese equivalent of churros}

The industrious and resilient young man shrewdly ferreted opportunities, borrowing money from his mother-in-law to buy a lorry. This was to supply sacks of cement to construction sites.

But grandma had other ideas. The wise matriarch made him sell off the vehicle. She borrowed $3,000 to help seed a shipchandling business in 1958, upon which the foundation of Pan-United was built. Singapore was then on the cusp of revival as an entrepot hub. More ships were coming into port. His shipchandling business boomed in the 1960s.

Over the next six decades, Ng Kar Cheong’s pioneering spirit of tenacity, perseverance and trustworthiness continues strong in Pan-United. The strategic focus on excellent customer service remains unrelenting.