[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 47 (Wednesday, March 21, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E409]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       HONORING THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY OF TAN HOLDINGS CORPORATION

                                 ______
                                 

                  HON. GREGORIO KILILI CAMACHO SABLAN

                    of the northern mariana islands

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 21, 2012

  Mr. SABLAN. Mr. Speaker, forty years ago--on July 24, 1972--Tan Siu 
Lin, arrived in Guam from Hong Kong with a young family, one cargo 
ship, and plenty of ambition. He began buying surplus materials from 
the military in Guam and shipping those goods around the Western 
Pacific while distributing American movies, an especially prized 
commodity, to the islands.
  Over the years, Doctor Tan, along with his wife Lam Pek Kim, and 
their children, Henry, Willie, Lilly, Raymond, Jerry, and Sunny, 
nurtured their small, homegrown enterprise into the 40,000-employee, 
international powerhouse of affiliated companies that it is today. From 
tourism, to insurance, logistics, information, and entertainment, Tan 
Holdings is vital to the economies and communities of the island 
Pacific.
  The Tan family has not only brought employment and economic 
opportunity to our islands, they have brought our islands to the world. 
Tan Holdings is our region's premier exporter of tourism and importer 
of tourists. Starting with Century Travel Agency in 1992, then with the 
addition of the Fiesta Resort and Spa Saipan, the Fiesta Resort and Spa 
Guam, and the Saipan Grand Hotel, the Tans have contributed 
significantly to the islands' economic mainstay of tourism. Even when 
times have been difficult, Tan Holdings President Jerry Tan has 
declared, as he did this past January keynoting the Saipan Chamber of 
Commerce's annual gala, his company's campaign to ``Believe in CNMI,'' 
and backed up that declaration by confirming that Tan Holdings would 
soon be launching a new airline. Saipan Air will initially bring 
tourists from Japan and China to the Mariana Islands, but no doubt with 
Tan Holding's business acumen, the airline will soon be a force 
throughout the Asia-Pacific Region. Tan Holdings is no stranger to the 
airline industry. In 1991, the company established POI Aviation to 
provide ground-handling services for Northwest Airlines, Asiana 
Airlines, United Airlines, Korean Air, and other private airlines. And 
in 1999, the company began operating Asia Pacific Airlines, which 
provides air cargo services to the region's tuna fishing industry.
  Nor is Tan Holdings limited to tourists and airplanes. Through its 
subsidiary Century Insurance Groups the company is the number one 
property and casualty underwriter in the Marianas. Tan Holding's Realty 
Management Services owns and operates approximately 150 residential 
apartment units on the island of Saipan. And Tan Holdings developed one 
of the preeminent buildings in our islands: TSL Plaza, which is a 
flagship for their commercial real estate holdings in Micronesia.
  The Tan portfolio includes Cosmos Distributing and Dickerson & Quinn 
International Distributors, bringing some of the world's best-known 
consumer brands to island businesses and residents, names such as 
Procter & Gamble, Campbell's, Gillette, Nabisco, Cadbury, and General 
Mills. In Guam the public benefits from the company's investment in 
Tango Theaters, which provide world-class movie viewing at seventeen 
screens in the Micronesia Mall and Agana Shopping Center. And in Saipan 
the community gets its daily news from the Saipan Tribune, which has 
been a trusted outlet of information since 1993.
  One of the greatest contributions of the Tan family and Tan Holdings 
to our community, however, has been the establishment of the Tan Siu 
Lin Foundation. Although the Tan family has been generous to the island 
community throughout all of Tan Holdings' 40 years, the formal 
establishment of the Tan Siu Lin Foundation in 2009, heralded a new 
beginning in regional philanthropy. The TSL Foundation has donated 
millions of dollars to deserving, nonprofit, educational, athletic, and 
community ventures in our islands. Guided by its motto of ``iServe. 
iGive back.'' the Foundation has not only donated from its corporate 
proceeds, but has also encouraged philanthropy at the grass-roots 
level--through its employees. The social responsibility practiced and 
taught by the TSL Foundation will be as enduring in our islands as any 
of the Tan Holdings businesses.
  Please join me in congratulating Dr. Tan Siu Lin, and his family, for 
their 40 years of contribution to the commerce, economy, and livability 
of the Northern Mariana Islands and all of Micronesia.

                          ____________________