By Francis Chan

ALL Ms Annie Gan wanted, when she ventured across the Causeway to Singapore more than 18 years ago, was a good job to help pay for her part-time studies here.

She could hardly have dreamt of how far she would come. Today, the 39-year-old is at the helm of Jian Huang Construction, a multimillion-dollar building firm with a fast-moving global operation.

The firm, which Ms Gan co-founded with a friend in 1996, recorded more than $80 million in revenue last year despite the economic downturn.

Before the crisis, revenue had grown steadily from about $80 million in 2006 to $100 million in 2007, and $110 million two years ago, according to Jian Huang chief financial officer Lee Kam Seng.

As managing director, Ms Gan is one of the few women at the pinnacle of a male-dominated field.

The success of Jian Huang helped propel her into the finals of the Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2007, where she was just one of two female bosses in the final line-up of 13 top entrepreneurs.

When The Straits Times visited Ms Gan at the new Jian Huang corporate headquarters in Tuas recently, she said the success of the firm was beyond even her wildest dreams.

Despite her achievements, she maintains that running a construction business was the last thing on her mind when she first set foot in Singapore.

'I came to Singapore only to look for better work opportunities...I didn't think a young Chinese girl could make it this far,' said Ms Gan.

At 21, and armed with just a Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) - the equivalent of an O-level qualification - Ms Gan arrived in Singapore in 1992 and found work as a clerk at a sub-contracting firm.

'I did everything at the company, even my colleague's share of work, and I didn't complain because I was hungry to learn,' she recalled.

Her hunger and eagerness to learn the trade got the attention of her boss at the time, who then showed her the ropes.

'I didn't know the job - because quantity surveying wasn't part of my job scope - but I tried it and eventually my boss decided to train me.'

For months, she would accompany her boss to building sites and sit in meetings between burly male contractors. Ms Gan's husband, Jian Huang group executive director Lee Chong Chin, said that his wife's apprenticeship helped open their eyes to the construction business.

'She was also able to learn about the potential of the business and where money could be made,' said Mr Lee.

Ms Gan managed to put together about $100,000 to start up Jian Huang in 1996. She said the funds came mainly from savings she had put aside and earnings from a part-time job she picked up along the way.

'I was a part-time insurance agent with Wing On Life for two years and even managed to hit the MDRT (Million Dollar Round Table),' she said.

Although Ms Gan was always prepared to work hard at whatever she did, the first contract Jian Huang undertook almost put an end to her fledgling entrepreneurial career as quickly as it had started.

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