Boustead and Company

By Chia, Joshua Yeong Jia written on 2006-10-05
National Library Board Singapore

Boustead and Company, as the second oldest company of European origin in Singapore, is almost as old as modern Singapore itself. Set up as a small trading house less than 10 years after the founding of Singapore by Sir Stamford Raffles, the company expanded into the agency business. Today, it is a holding company with a wide range of business interests.

History
On 13 March 1828, a young Englishman Edward Boustead arrived in Singapore en route to China.  He saw the business opportunities offered by the vibrant trade settlement and founded Boustead and Company. In 1834, Gustav Christian Schwabe was admitted as a partner and the company was renamed Boustead, Schwabe and Company. Schwabe left the company in 1848 and Boustead became the sole partner. Boustead retired to England in 1850, and the firm was renamed Boustead and Company in 1867. 

In 1975, business restructuring resulted in the creation of separate entities in Singapore, Malaysia, and the United Kingdom.  The firm's businesses in Singapore came under the newly created Bousteadco Singapore Limited.  Jack Chia-MPH took over Bousteadco in 1993, but sold its stake to Janburgh Holdings in 1996.  Bousteadco was renamed Boustead Singapore Limited in 1997

Nature of Business
In Boustead's initial years, it was involved in the trading of natural resources, spices, coconut, tobacco, tin, tea and silk. Boustead's business then expanded to cover finance, shipping, mining and agriculture, and by 1900, it had operations throughout South East Asia, China, Australia, and Europe.  In the mid-1930s, the company was listed as import and export merchants, steamship and chartering agents, insurance and banking agents, secretaries and agents for rubber and coconut estates and tin mining industries as well suppliers of machinery and factory equipment. Over the years, Boustead had become identified with famous brand names such as Cadbury, Johnny Walker, Hennessy and Thomas Cook. 

With industrialisation and changes in the economic landscape in Singapore and elsewhere in the region starting in the 1970s, the firm's structure and business also changed. As with most of the early trading companies, the nature of business evolved to cover non-traditional areas such as technical services. Today, Boustead Singapore is a holding company with interests ranging from technical services to logistics to information and data systems and marketing and management services

Timeline
1828 : Boustead and Company was founded
1834 : Company was renamed Boustead, Schwabe and Company. 
1867 : Firm's name was reverted to Boustead and Company.
1960 : Boustead was listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange.
1966 : Boustead was renamed Boustead Holdings Berhad.
1975 : Bousteadco Singapore Limited was set up
1993 : Bousteadco Singapore Limited was taken over by Jack Chia-MPH
1996 : Bousteadco Singapore Limited was acquired by Janburgh Holdings 
1997 : Bousteadco Singapore Limited was renamed Boustead Singapore Limited



Author
Joshua Chia Yeong Jia & Chan Fook Weng



References
 Allen, G. C., & Donnithorne, A. G. (2003).  Western enterprise in Indonesia and Malaya: A study in economic development (pp. 54-55).  London: George Allen & Unwin.  
(Call no.: RBUS 338.9ALL)

Makepeace, W., Brooke, G. E., & Braddell, R. St. J. (Eds.). (1991). One hundred years of Singapore (Vol. 2, pp. 189-191). Singapore: Oxford University Press.
(Call no.: RSING 959.57 ONE) 

Singapore International Chamber of Commerce. (1979).  From early days (pp. 44-46).  Singapore: The Chamber.  
(Call no.: RSING 380.10655957SIN)

Tej company profile - Boustead Singapore Limited. (2006, September 30). Taiwan Economic Journal.  Retrieved July 26, 2007, from Factiva database.

Through fair and foul. (2002, December 1). Malaysian Business.  Retrieved July 26, 2007, from Factiva database.  

Boustead Singapore. (n.d.).  Company History.  Retrieved October 4, 2006, from http://www.boustead.com.sg (then click on About Boustead > Company History).

Further Readings
Buckley, C. B. (1984). An anecdotal history of old times in Singapore: 1819-1867 (pp. 210, 457, 539). Singapore: Oxford University Press.
(Call no.: RSING 959.57BUC)



The information in this article is valid as at 2007 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources.  It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject.  Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic. 



Subject
Commerce and Industry>>Trade
Trading companies -- Singapore
Boustead and Company
Business, finance and industry>>Business organization>>Business enterprises



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