The story behind TKL Group Buying and the man leading it.
Mr Tan Kin Lian began his career as an insurance clerk before training as an actuary and becoming General Manager of NTUC Income in 1977, at the age of 29. Over the next 30 years he grew the company from S$28 million in assets to more than S$17 billion, serving over a million policyholders — while keeping fees low, encouraging direct-selling that cut out unnecessary agent commissions, and running the organisation with famously modest operating expenses. He was known for flying economy class even on long-haul business trips, a habit that came to symbolise his no-frills, value-first approach to running a large financial institution.
After stepping down from NTUC Income, Mr Tan remained an active, outspoken voice on consumer protection, insurance fairness and public policy in Singapore, including two runs for the Presidency (2011 and 2023). TKL Group Buying is a natural extension of that lifelong focus: identify good, useful products, cut out the retail mark-up, and pass the savings directly to buyers.
TKL Group Buying isn't a big retail chain — it's a direct, low-overhead way to get everyday electronics at a fair price.
Products are personally selected and purchased by TKL before being listed — not drop-shipped from unknown sellers.
Group-buy pricing means savings are passed on rather than absorbed by a long retail chain.
PayNow payment, manual verification and clear status updates — built for buyers of every age and comfort level with technology.