In 1905, brothers Jian Zhaonan and Jian Yujie, both from Nanhai, Guangdong, founded a company in Hong Kong called "Nanyang Brothers Tobacco Company." Initially, they produced "White Crane" brand cigarettes, which gained popularity. However, the company soon faced setbacks and closed down due to competition from British and American tobacco companies. In 1909, they resumed operations and renamed the company "Guangdong Nanyang Brothers Tobacco Company," producing "Double Happiness" cigarettes. In 1916, they established a factory in Shanghai.

In 1918, the company was restructured as Nanyang Brothers Tobacco Corporation Limited, with its headquarters relocated to Shanghai. In 1919, they issued shares to the public, increasing their capital to 15 million Hong Kong dollars, with more than half of the shares owned by the Jian brothers. They set up branch factories in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Hankou, and other places, as well as tin foil factories, printing factories, canning factories, and tobacco curing factories in tobacco-producing areas. Their sales network expanded nationwide and throughout Southeast Asia. During the peak period of Nanyang Brothers, in 1923, Jian Zhaonan, aged 53, suddenly passed away, marking a turning point in the company's fortunes. By 1927, the actual capital reached nearly 20 million yuan. However, after 1927, under the dual pressure of foreign capital and bureaucratic capital, the company's business declined, experiencing consecutive losses from 1928 to 1930, and the capital dwindled to 11.25 million yuan. The company incurred a loss of 2.25 million yuan in 1928 and 3.2 million yuan in 1929. After the severe losses in the late 1920s, from 1930 to 1936, Nanyang's average annual profit was only 700,000 yuan, a fraction of the earlier years' annual profit of 4 million yuan. In 1936, the Jian family actively sought help from Song Ziwen, offering him 200,000 shares at a low price and giving him control over the 200,000 shares they held. In April 1937, Song Ziwen took over Nanyang Brothers Tobacco Company, assuming the position of Chairman. His brother, Song Ziliang, and Shanghai celebrity Du Yuesheng became directors of the company, while Jian Yujie was demoted to the fourth largest shareholder and took on the roles of director and design committee member, effectively assuming a passive position. For the next 12 years, the company was controlled by a bureaucratic group. At the time, Song Ziwen held both public and private positions and utilized funds from the Guangdong Bank, leading the book "Historical Materials of Nanyang Brothers Tobacco Company" published in September 1958 to consider it as "bureaucratic capitalism's plunder and control of national industry." Some argue that this is evidence of Song's corruption. After Song Ziwen took over, Nanyang Brothers managed to survive temporarily. After the July 7th Incident, Nanyang Brothers' factories in Shanghai were bombed by the Japanese, and almost the entire mainland market was lost.

After the establishment of the People's Republic of China, military control was implemented in the Shanghai, Chongqing, Hankou, and Guangzhou factories, confiscating bureaucratic capital and establishing temporary management committees. In February 1951, through a public-private joint venture agreement, Nanyang Brothers Tobacco Company was renamed Public-Private Joint Venture Nanyang Brothers Tobacco Company, with Jian Yujie serving as Vice Chairman and Jian Zhaonan's son, Jian Rilin, appointed as General Manager. By 1957, the company's profits had increased more than tenfold. The Shanghai, Hankou, Guangzhou, and Chongqing factories were successively transformed into separate accounting units and incorporated into the national plan. The Hong Kong factory retained the name Nanyang Brothers Tobacco Corporation Limited and continued to operate. In 1960, the Nanyang board of directors decided to entrust the Hong Kong factory to the General Audit Office of China Bank in Hong Kong. In 1965, the Hong Kong factory relocated from Wan Chai to San Po Kong, and in 1985, it moved again to Matau Kok.

In 1980, the ownership of "Nanyang" officially belonged to the Shanghai Municipal Government. In 1981, the Shanghai Municipal Government registered a wholly-owned subsidiary company called "Shanghai Industrial Company Limited" (the predecessor of "Shanghai Industrial Group") in Hong Kong, and "Nanyang" became a member company under "Shanghai Industrial." In 1987, it was officially transferred to Shanghai Industrial.

1905年由广东南海人简照南和简玉阶兄弟在香港创立，当时“南洋兄弟烟草公司”，最初生产“白鹤”牌香烟，销路一直上升，但不久被英美烟草公司打击下倒闭。1909年复业，改名为“广东南洋兄弟烟草公司”，生产“红双喜”香烟，1916年在上海设厂。

1918年改组为南洋兄弟烟草股份有限公司，总部改在上海。1919年向社会招股，资本增到1500万港元，股份的一半以上为简氏兄弟所有。先后在上海、香港、汉口等地设分厂，并开办锡纸厂、印刷厂和制罐厂，在烟叶产地设烤烟厂，销售机构遍布全国及东南亚各地。在南洋公司最辉煌的时候，1923年，53岁的简照南突然去世。这成为了南洋公司盛极而衰的转折点。1927年实有资本近2000万元。1927年以后，在外国资本与官僚资本双重压迫下，公司营业衰退，1928至1930年出现连续亏损，资本锐减到1125万元。1928年南洋亏损225万元，1929年亏损320万元。在20年代末的严重亏损后，1930至1936年间，南洋的年平均利润为70万元，仅为其早期年利400万元的一个零头。1936年简家主动与宋子文求援，愿以低价让给宋子文20万股，并把简家自己保留的20万股由宋掌握。1937年4月，宋子文入主南洋兄弟烟草公司，宋子文任董事长。其弟宋子良和沪上名人杜月笙成为南洋兄弟公司董事，简玉阶被降为第四大股东，任董事和设计委员，实际处于闲职地位。之后的12年，南洋公司一直为官僚集团把持和控制。宋子文当时的身份是公私要职一身兼，动用的是广东银行的资金，因此被出版于1958年9月的《南洋兄弟烟草公司史料》一书认为是"官僚资本主义对民族工业的掠夺和控制"，也有观点认为这是宋“贪腐”的证据。宋子文入主以后，南洋公司暂时得以维持。"七七事变"后，南洋兄弟在上海的工厂被日本炸毁，大陆市场几乎全数沦丧。

中华人民共和国建立后，大陆内上海厂、重庆厂、汉口厂、广州厂实行了军事监管，没收官僚资本，成立了临时管理委员会。1951年2月，南洋公司通过公私合营协议，企业改名为公私合营南洋兄弟烟草公司，简玉阶出任副董事长，简照南之子简日林被聘为总经理。到1957年，公司盈利增长了10倍以上。上海、汉口、广州、重庆四厂先后改为独立核算单位，全部纳入国家计划。香港厂房仍保留南洋兄弟烟草股份有限公司名称，继续经营，1960年“南洋”董事会决定，委托中国银行驻香港总稽核室代管其香港厂。1965年，香港厂房由湾仔迁往新蒲岗，1985年再迁往马头角。

1980年，“南洋”在产权关系上正式归属上海市政府。1981年，上海市政府在香港注册设立了全资窗口公司“上海实业有限公司”（“上海实业集团”的前身），“南洋”成为“上实”旗下的成员企业。1987年，正式让给上海实业。