Singapore Re's corporate headquarters along Amoy Street is closely linked with the history of Singapore. Amoy, today spelt Xiamen, is the name of the port in south China where the first generation of Chinese emigrants set sail for Singapore.

Amoy Street is located in historic Telok Ayer, which was one of the earliest of four sub-districts in Singapore's Chinatown to be developed in the 1820s. Telok Ayer Street once ran close to and parallel with the original shoreline. When Sir Stamford Raffles founded Singapore in 1819, he declared Singapore a free port. As a result, many immigrants from South China, India and the Middle East region arrived and landed in Telok Ayer from the early 1820s. It was these immigrants who built the temples and mosques that fronted the sea to give thanks for their safe passage to Singapore.

Apart from places of worship, the area around Amoy Street was also a busy commercial hub, housing many trading companies dealing in rice, textiles, spices, ironware, etc. These entrepreneurs were middlemen who specialised in brokering deals for buyers and sellers. Their trade was known as "98 percent business" as 98% of sales proceeds went to sellers, leaving the middlemen with a 2% commission. Amoy Street was also colloquially known as the "Free School Street" as it was here that Cui Ying School was built in 1854. The first Anglo-Chinese School was also set up at 70 Amoy Street in 1886. Many Chinese clan associations or 'huay kwan" also had their premises in the area, to serve as focal points for mutual aid for their clansmen.

Being part of the Telok Ayer sub-district, Amoy Street was accorded conservation status in 1989. Most of the original shop-houses have been restored and are now home to modern day businesses like insurance companies, advertising agencies, law offices and restaurants. The nearby China Square and Club Street areas have also been transformed of late into a trendy restaurant and pub district.

Notwithstanding its modern usage, this old thoroughfare, with its two-and three-storey shop-houses, still retains much of its original old world charm despite being just a stone's throw away from the modern office buildings in the heart of today's central business district.