Swire Group

The Swire Group is a multinational company which is active on five continents. At the top of the corporate group, a privately owned holding company, " John Swire & Sons " is headquartered in London, United Kingdom. About this numerous subsidiary is active in five business segments: deep sea shipping, land transportation, cold storage, agriculture and agricultural trade.

In addition, John Swire & Sons still has some interests in companies, of which 36.5 % share of the " Swire Pacific Limited " (ISIN HK0019000162 ) is the most significant. This company is based in Hong Kong and is listed on the Hang Seng Index. Its main areas of business are: real estate, hotels, drinks, shipping services, food and trade. Furthermore, it is with 40 % the largest shareholder in the airline " Cathay Pacific " (ISIN HK0293001514 ) and 33.5 % in the aviation service company " Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Company".

John Swire & Sons is also " Steamship Trading Company " directly involved with 72 % from the Southeast Asian maritime and trading house.

History

The " Swire Group " was founded in 1816 by John Swire ( 1793-1847 ) in Liverpool ( UK). Initially, no more than a small import-export textile trade began John Swire & Sons cotton from the United States to introduce to the UK.

As this with the outbreak of the American Civil War was no longer possible in 1861, the company turned to the tea and silk trade with China, first by means of agents. 1866 then was, together with R. S. Butterfield a subsidiary in Shanghai ( Chinese Empire ) was founded. This company, called Butterfield & Swire, went after two years entirely in the possession of John Swire & Sons over, but kept for more than a hundred years old his name at. Economically successful, Butterfield & Swire has already set up a branch office four years after its establishment in Hong Kong. To promote the China trade, it had also also acquired a Chinese name, " Taikoo " (太古), which, young and old means'.

In the same year the parent company John Swire & Sons moved its headquarters from Liverpool to London. It had now also has offices in Manchester ( UK ), New York ( USA) and Yokohama (Japan).

In 1872, John Swire & Sons in London, " The China Navigation Company " to operate a small fleet of steamers trading on the Yangtze River (China). Within a decade the shipping company expanded its line of network on the whole Chinese coast and on to Australia and New Zealand. Later lines followed by Europe and North and South America.

After the proclamation of the People's Republic of China in 1949 Butterfield & Swire was forced by the Communist authorities to cease all its activities in China. The China business focused then on to Hong Kong. In 1948 Butterfield & Swire had climbed 45% in the " Cathay Pacific " two years earlier founded in Hong Kong. In 1974, John Swire & Sons decided to put his new business in Hong Kong. Butterfield & Swire therefore named in " John Swire & Sons ( HK) Ltd. " and brought to an equity interest in their activities in the listed " Swire Pacific " one. The latter was in turn emerged from the controlled of John Swire & Sons' Taikoo Dockyard & Engineering Company ".

In 1976 participated (also known as Finlay ) John Swire & Sons in 1750 in Glasgow ( UK ) based company " James Finlay " and took it over in 2000 completely. With James Finlay succeeded in entering the business with plantations (tea, rubber, wood, cut flowers ) in East Africa (Uganda, Kenya) and Sri Lanka.

Miscellaneous

In the novel Noble House of the author James Clavell, the rivalry between the companies Swire Group under the pseudonym Rothwell Gornt and Jardine Matheson Holdings is picked up.

156516
de