The Lam Soon Group is a fully integrated group of companies in the palm oil industry from plantation/oil milling to refinery, soap and detergent manufacturing and oleochemicals, to the marketing and distribution of branded consumer products. It has operations in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Hong Kong.

The history of the group dates back to August 1950, when LAM SOON CANNERY PRIVATE LIMITED was incorporated by the late Ng Keng Soon in August 1950 to trade in copra and canned food. Following his death in 1955, his sons Whang Tar Choung and Whang Tar Liang took over the management. The company embarked on the manufacturing of cooking oil and laundry soap at its factory in Jalan Jurong Kechil, Singapore.

In 1963 its subsidiary LAM SOON OIL & SOAP MANUFACTURING (S) PTE LTD was granted pioneer status by Singapore government for the manufacture of beauty soap.

1970 saw Lam Soon becoming the pioneer of the palm oil refining industry in Malaysia when it built the country’s first oil fractionation plant to manufacture cooking oil. Recognizing the potential of palm oil, Lam Soon moved upstream and established plantations in both East and Peninsular Malaysia.

In 1972, LAM SOON (HONG KONG) became a public listed company in Hong Kong. (Following a rights issue in 1997, the Hong Leong Group of Malaysia became the controlling shareholder of Lam Soon (Hong Kong).)

By 1985 Lam Soon's oil and soap manufacturing businesses in Malaysia were restructured into LAM SOON (M) BERHAD to comply with the country’s New Economic Policy.

In 1987, LAM SOON (M) BERHAD and Lion Corporation Japan incorporated Southern Lion as an equal joint venture. The Company is based in Tebrau, Johor and produces detergents, home care products and marketing of oral and beauty care products.

In 1993 LAM SOON SINGAPORE established a Representative Office in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam to market its popular Sailing Boat cooking oil and other products.

In 1996, LAM SOON (THAILAND) became a public listed company in Thailand.

In 1997, LAM SOON (THAILAND) acquired 20% of the shares in United Palm Oil Industry Public Co. Ltd (UPOIC), making UPOIC an associate company of LAM SOON (THAILAND). UPOIC owns the largest oil palm plantation in Thailand.

In 1997, LAM ALLIANCE INTERNATIONAL LTD was incorporated in Hong Kong as a subsidiary of LAM SOON (M) BERHAD to import and market beauty soap in the People’s Republic of China.

In 1998 new refining equipment was installed at LAM SOON (THAILAND)’s factory in Bangpoo Industrial Estate, Samut Prakarn Province, Thailand, raising the company’s palm oil refining capacity to 700 tonnes per day and making it Thailand’s largest refiner of palm oil.

In November 2001, the Lam Soon Group of Companies in Malaysia relocated to new corporate headquarters at the Hicom-Glenmarie Industrial Park. This features upgraded facilities to cater for the continuous growth of the Group.

Lam Soon (M) Berhad's state-of-the-art finishing line located in Telok Panglima Garang, Selangor began operation in mid 2002. Apart from its high performance, it has many other unique features and capable of producing soap of single formulations into different shapes, sizes or wrapping designs.

Over the last 20 years, the Group has ventured into downstream manufacturing of higher value added products from palm oil. These include specialty fats made from a bio-technology process (in joint venture with Nisshin Oil Mills and Mitsubishi Corporation) and oleochemicals such as distilled fatty acids, stearic fractionated acids and refined glycerine (in joint ventures with Dutch chemical multi-national Akzo Nobel).