Online Order for Hampers, Gifts, Health Products

Corporate Information

Malaysia Management Team

Branch Networks

Home : About Us : History & Milestones

History & Milestones

The legend began in 1870s when Eu Kong Pai (a.k.a. Eu Kong) left his hometown of Foshan, a village in southern China’s Guangdong province, to seek his fortune in Malaya (a.k.a. Malaysia). He settled down in the small mining town of Gopeng, Perak. There he soon noticed that the local tin miners are depended on opium as an energy source to relieve the pains resulting from their hard works and opium is what they can afford due to their poor living conditions.

He saw dangers of opium to people health. Therefore, he decided to make use of his knowledge of traditional Chinese medicine to help them give up this harmful habit. He then introduced traditional Chinese herbal remedies as a means of alleviating their physical suffering and restoring their health. The evident efficacy of the medicines made him widely accepted by the local people. In 1879, a tiny Chinese medicine shop named “Yan Sang”, the first Eu Yan Sang (hereinafter known as “EYS”) shop, was opened in Gopeng, Perak.

The name of the shop is made up of words “Yan” and “Sang”. “Yan” means benevolent, kind of humane in the Cantonese dialect and “Sang” represents birth, life or livelihood. “Yan Sang” literally means “caring for mankind”.

In 1890, thirteen years old Eu Tong Sen, Eu Kong’s eldest son, inherited the family business. He grew up under the influence of his father’s vision, at the age of 20, he had becomes one of Malaya’s best- known pioneers in the tin- mining industry. By the end of the decade, the second EYS shop was opened in Kampar, Perak.

With his determination and astute foresight, he expanded the business to other areas of Malaysia, and to Singapore, Hong Kong and China. . He had embedded that Caring for Mankind and Caring for generations are the vision and mission of EYS. Besides tending to his business, Eu Tong Sen often donated generously to the poor and needy, and was always ready to support the cause for education in the region.

The spirit of Eu Tong Sen will never give up with present of EYS. EYS had proven that the vision of the founder’s continues in generations even now after more than 120 years and this will live on for generations to come.

1910s	Eu Tong Sen moves the headquarters to Singapore. The building in South Bridge Road, Singapore, still serves as the company’s headquarters today.
1920s	Eu Tong Sen expanded the operations to Hong Kong and Canton, China. Eu Tong Sen dies in Hong Kong.
1950s	EYS operations in Malaysia and Singapore are converted from proprietorship to limited company status. Weng Li Sdn Bhd, EYS’s wholly-owned manufacturing arm, is set up in Malaysia.
1980s	EYS embarks on a plan to modernize the herbs and medicine business, introducing modern, convenient packaging for its traditional soup products and selling them in supermarkets.
1990s	In 1992, EYS is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. In 1993, EYS acquires Synco, one of the largest manufacturers of western pharmaceuticals, in Hong Kong. In 1996, the fourth-generation successor of EYS joined hands with a fund house to successfully merge its Singapore and Hong Kong operations to form Eu Yan Sang International Limited. In 1997, Weng Li is awarded GMP certification - a recognized international standard - in line with the Ministry of Health’s requirement. In 1999, EYS renewed its corporate and retail images, actively participating in the modernization of the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) industry and standardization of its Chinese medicine production through joint research with academics and the government.
2000s	EYS’s business operations have grown to span Southeast Asia, China, Australia, the USA and Europe. In 2000, EYS is listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange. In 2002, EYS became the first Hong Kong Chinese medicine manufacturer to obtain Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) certification from the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) for its entire manufacturing process from raw herbs to end-products.