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The British Agency Houses in Malaysia: Survival in a Changing World

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 April 2011

J. H. Drabble  and
P. J. Drake
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Extract

One of the most interesting features of the growth of Britain's overseas commerce over the past two centuries has been the merchant firm, often the product of very small-scale beginnings but gradually developing into a worldwide network centring on London. The scope for such enterprises grew as effective naval control increased the security of the maritime trade routes and the importance of the great chartered companies declined. Much of the early growth came from the “country trade” between India and China in which private merchants were permitted to engage. In the late eighteenth century, commercial firms in the City of London began to open branches in India to deal in local products such as indigo, cotton and, later, opium. By the early nineteenth century, around two dozen of these “agency houses” were in existence though the majority were very small and short-lived. 1 In the same period, the more substantial firms were establishing further offshoots in Canton to participate in the tea and silk trade in Europe.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Southeast Asian Studies , Volume 12 , Issue 2 , September 1981 , pp. 297 - 328
Copyright
Copyright © The National University of Singapore 1981

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References

1 For a full discussion see Greenberg, Michael, British Trade and the Opening of China, 1800-42 (Cambridge, 1951)Google Scholar.

2 Ibid., ch. 6.

3 Kling, Blair B., “The Origins of the Managing Agency System in India”, Journal of Asian Studies 26 (Nov. 1966): 37–47.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

4 For a more detailed discussion, see Ding, Chiang Hai, “Sino-British Mercantile Relations in Singapore's Entrepot Trade, 1870-1915”, Studies in the Social History of China and S. E. Asia, ed. Ch'en, J. and Tarling, N., (Cambridge, 1970), pp. 247–66Google Scholar.

5 Apart from the references already cited, see particularly Allen, G. C. and Donnithorne, A., Western Enterprise in Indonesia and Malaya (London, 1957)Google Scholar ; Stahl, K. M., The Metropolitan Organization of British Colonial Trade (London, 1951)Google Scholar ; Puthucheary, J. J., Ownership and Control in the Malayan Economy (Singapore, 1960)Google Scholar.

6 Report of the Commission of Inquiry on Agency Houses and Brokering Firms, Sessional Paper no. XII — 1974 (Government Printer, Sri Lanka, Dec. 1974).Google Scholar

7 For dates of establishment, see Fong, Loh Wen, “The Singapore Houses of Agency, 1819-1900”, B. A. (Hons.) academic exercise (Dept. of History, University of Malaya in Singapore, 1958), App. B and C. This source, consulted by kind permission of Prof. Wong Lin Ken, gives 1830 as the year when Edward Boustead set up his own firm, but as far as the company itself is concerned the date is taken as 1828, the year of Boustead's arrival in SingaporeGoogle Scholar.

8 , Greenberg, op. cit., p. 174.Google Scholar

9 , Loh, op. cit., p. 5.Google Scholar

10 Quoted in Ibid., p. 8.

11 , Greenberg, op. cit., p. 97.Google Scholar

12 Op. cit., pp. 6–12.

13 Turnbull, CM., The Straits Settlements, 1826–67 (London, 1972), p. 180.Google Scholar

14 , Loh, op. cit., p. 12. See alsoGoogle Scholar, Turnbull, op. cit., pp. 183–88Google Scholar.

15 A view endorsed by , Loh, op. cit., p. 15Google Scholar, relying on a contemporary account by T. J. Newbold.

16 Authentic typescript transcription of Chartered Bank Inspectors' Letter Book, since destroyed.

17 These are described, in varying degrees, also by Turnbull, op. cit., Loh, op. cit., and especially , Allen and , Donnithorne, op. cit., pp. 240–46Google Scholar.

18 Wright, Arnold and Cartwright, W. H., Twentieth-Century Impressions of British Malaya (London, 1908)Google Scholar , quoting Fullerton, Chief Resident, Straits Settlements, 1830.

19 The Straits were not in 1830 served by banks and the stock of currency depended largely upon a balance-of-payments surplus, which was difficult to achieve because of the fondness of the Chinese merchants for shipping bullion and specie to China.

20 Op. cit., p. 17.

21 Op. cit., pp. 180–82.

22 12 Sept. 1885.

23 , Chiang, op. cit., pp. 260–65Google Scholar,discusses the credit problem in more detail.

24 Op. cit., p. 181.

25 Straits Times, 12 Sept. 1885.

26 , Allen and , Donnithorne, op. cit., p. 243.Google Scholar

27 Ibid., pp. 242-46.

28 , Loh, op. cit., pp. 18–20Google Scholar gives a general account of agencies held in the 19th century. See Table 3.

29 Ibid., pp. 20–26.

30 Op. cit., p. 146.

31 , Loh, op. cit., pp. 21, 25.Google Scholar

32 See Allen, J. De V., “Johore 1901-1914”, JMBRAS, 1972, p. 6.Google Scholar

33 See also Cunyngham-Brown, J. S. H., The Traders (London, 1971), pp. 105, 152–58Google Scholar.

34 , Loh, op. cit., pp. 45–46Google Scholar,gives some examples.

35 Allen and , Donnithorne, op. cit., p. 57.Google Scholar

36 Harrisons and Barker was (from 1921) the Malaysian subsidiary of Harrisons and Crosfield Ltd., London, and adopted the name of the parent company after the Second World War.

37 A fuller account is in Drabble, J. H., Rubber in Malaya, 1876-1922: The Genesis of the Industry (Kuala Lumpur, 1973), pp. 78–86Google Scholar.

38 , Allen and , Donnithorne, op. cit., p. 57.Google Scholar

39 , Wright and , Cartwright, op. cit., pp. 381–494, touch on the careers of many estate managers.Google Scholar

40 Guthrie letters, Singapore to London, 6 Sept. 1917.

41 Guthrie letters, Singapore to London, 24 Feb. 1914. The outcome of this particular case is not known from the material extant.

42 Guthrie letters, Singapore to London, 20 June 1918.

43 Guthrie letters, Singapore to London, 4 Sept. 1917; 25 Feb. 1918; and 14 Mar. 1918.

44 Longhurst, Henry, The Borneo Story, p. 86.Google Scholar

45 , Cunyngham-Brown, op. cit., p. 247.Google Scholar

46 Information from personal communications.

47 Bumiputras - the sons of the soil, i. e., Malays and other indigenous peoples.

48 , Cunyngham-Brown, op. cit., p. 308.Google Scholar

49 Jacks Newsletter, 1969. “Berhad” - Limited.

50 Ibid.

51 Annual Report and Accounts 1954 (hereafter cited as A. R. & A/Cs).

52 See listings in The Straits Times Directory (Singapore) for the late 1950s.

53 Hitherto competition had been mitigated through inter-company division of the market, e. g., Guthrie had Penang and north Malaya as a Guinness stout sales territory. A similar pattern existed in the sugar and cement trades.

54 A. R. & A/Cs, Boustead & Co. (1960) Ltd., 1961, 1964/65; Barlow-Boustead Estates Agency Sdn. Bhd. brochure (mimeo, n. d. ). “Sdn. Bhd.” is the abbreviation for Sendirian Berhad (Private Limited).

55 , Cunyngham-Brown, op. cit., p. 308Google Scholar ; Straits Times Directory of Malaysia and Singapore, 1968-1973Google Scholar issues; A. R. & A/Cs, Guthrie Corporation Ltd., 1975Google Scholar.

56 In some cases the company had been locally registered as a private limited company since colonial times, e. g., Guthrie (1903), Boustead (1921). The difference now was that the companies went public, floating a portion of their shares on the Kuala Lumpur and Singapore Stock Exchanges.

57 In 1976 BHB did have a 24% stake in Trebor (Singapore) Pty. Ltd. and a 50% stake in Boustead (Hong Kong) Ltd., but the great bulk of its interests lay in Malaysia.

58 This latter was a U. K. -registered plantation company for which Boustead had been agents since its formation in 1910.

59 The information for this section is drawn from personal communications with the company ; Boustead News, vol. 1, no. 1 (1977)Google Scholar;A. R. & A/Cs, Boustead Ltd., 1976Google Scholar,Boustead Holdings Bhd., 1976, Bousteado Singapore Ltd., 1976.

60 Chairman's Review, A. R. & A/Cs, Guthrie Corporation, 1966Google Scholar.

61 These wholly owned subsidiaries are Kumpulan Temiang, Kumpulan Tebong, Kumpulan Jelei, Kumpulan Linggi, Kumpulan Sua Betong, and Kumpulan Kamuning Sdn. Bhd.

62 A. R. & A/Cs, Boustead Holdings Bhd., 1976.Google Scholar

63 A. R. & A/Cs, Guthrie Corporation, 1967, 1976.Google Scholar

61 These wholly owned subsidiaries are Kumpulan Temiang, Kumpulan Tebong, Kumpulan Jelei, Kumpulan Linggi, Kumpulan Sua Betong, and Kumpulan Kamuning Sdn. Bhd.

62 A. R. & A/Cs, Boustead Holdings Bhd., 1976.Google Scholar

63 A. R. & A/Cs, Guthrie Corporation, 1967, 1976.Google Scholar

64 Manufactured in Malaya by a wholly owned subsidiary, Wilkinson Process Rubber Company Ltd., A. R. Harrisons & Crosfield, 1954. Shortly after the Second World War, Harrisons & Crosfield and Guthrie pioneered bulk export of rubber latex in liquid form.

65 Gilfillan, Sharikat Harper, Towards Our Second Hundred Years (1967?).Google Scholar

66 See listings in Straits Directory of Singapore and Straits Times Directory of Malaysia and Singapore for the 1960s and early 1970s.

67 Straits Times Directory of Malaysia and Singapore, 1972 edition, listed this company's functions as “Managing agents, praject assessment and setting up services”.

68 The latter was an institution originally established by Guthrie in association with oil palm planting i n Johore in the 1920s.

67 A. R. & A/Cs, Harrisons & Crosfield Ltd., 1967.Google Scholar

70 A. R. & A/Cs, Boustead Holdings Bhd. 1976Google Scholar; Guthrie Ropel Bhd., Cha'ah (1976).

71 Calculated from Guthrie Corporation, Interim Report to 30 June 1977.

72 The “Asian” region was different for each company. For Boustead, Singapore, Malaysia, and Hong Kong; for Guthrie, Southeast Asia; for Harrisons & Crosfield, South and Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Japan.

73 It should be remembered that the latter is only part of the Boustead group. Boustead Holdings Bhd. accounts do not give a similar breakdown but the location of the subsidiaries indicate that Malaysia is by far the predominant source of revenue for that company.

74 A. R. & A/Cs, Guthrie Corporation, 1967.Google Scholar

75 A. R. & A/Cs, Boustead & Co. (1960) Ltd., 1963, 1967.Google Scholar

76 A. R. & A/Cs, Guthrie Ropel Bhd., 1976.Google Scholar

77 Guthrie Corporation Ltd., Malaysian Plantation Reorganisation (1976). By comparison in Nigeria the Corporation was required to reduce its holdings in Guthrie (Nigeria) Ltd. from 60% to 40% A. R. & A/Cs, Guthrie Corporation, 1976Google Scholar.

78 A. R. & A/Cs, Boustead Holdings Bhd., 1976Google Scholar; “Boustead: Making Way for the Bumiputras”, Insight (Apr 1977), pp. 6–10Google Scholar.

79 Far Eastern Economic Review (hereafter cited as FEER), 8–14 Aug. 1980. The percentage holdings were calculated by the writers from source data. The latest position is that FELDA and TAT are reported to have a combined stake of over 55%. Ibid., 30 Jan. -15 Feb. 1981.

80 A. R. & A/Cs, Boustead Holdings Bhd., 1976.Google Scholar

81 Barlow-Boustead Estate Agency Sdn. Bhd. (mimeo., n. d. ). The date and amount of shares involved are not stated.

82 A. R. & A/Cs, Boustead Holdings Bhd., 1976Google Scholar; Bousteadco Singapore Ltd., 1976.

83 This account is based on reports in the FEER issues for December 1976.

84 Ibid., 3 Dec. 1976.

85 Respectively Tunku Ahmad Yahaya (Managing Director, Dunlop Malaysian Industries), Mr. Wee Cho Yaw (Chairman, United Overseas Bank, Singapore), Mr. Sixto Roxas (President, Bancom, Philippines).

86 The two latter were Dr. Chan Chin Cheung, Director, Bank Negara, and Tan Sri Taib Andak, Chairman, Malayan Banking.

87 The actual proposer was Rothputra Nominees, a subsidiary of Bumiputra Merchant Bankers in turn owned by Bank Bumiputra and Rothschilds of London.

88 FEER, 10 Dec. and 24 Dec. 1976.

89 Ibid., 10 Dec. 1976.

90 Had the matter gone to a poll of shareholders the original proposal was expected to have passed, owing mainly to the decision of Tan Sri Tan Chin Tuan (Chairman, Oversea Chinese Banking Corporation, Singapore, which had a 10% holding) to abstain from voting. Ibid., 24 Dec. 1976.

91 Ibid., 27 July 1979. Sime Darby actually purchased about 30% and the balance consisted of acceptances from Guthrie shareholders. Ibid., 6 Apr. 1979.

92 Ibid., 19 Jan. 1979. The latter figure is given as a proportion of the Malaysian “plantation area”, but this is probably a misprint for “planted area”.

93 The PERNAS stake by early 1979 is given variously as between 20% and “more than” 25%, and other bumiputra institutions a further 2%. Ibid., 19 Jan., 9 Feb., and 16 Feb. 1979.

94 Ibid., 16 Feb. 1979.

95 Ibid.

96 Ibid., 27 July 1979; Insight (Aug. 1979), p. 11.

97 While this article was being prepared for the printer, Sime Darby announced that it had disposed of its shares in Guthrie Corporation to local investment institutions, principally Permodalan Nasional Bhd. This is interpreted as Sime Darby giving up, at least temporarily, its attempt to gain control of Outhrie. New Straits Times, 16 Dec. 1980. Harrisons & Crosfield has also been mentioned as a possible, though hard to assail, target for Sime Darby. FEER, 26 Dec. 1980.

98 Letters to the Editor, EFFR, 31 Dec. 1976. As a result of its development in recent years the company has been called “Asean's [sic] only true multinational. … ” Ibid., 12 Jan. 1979.

99 Ibid., 16 Mar. 1979. The Anderson family link with Guthrie dates from 1876. , Cunyngham-Brown, op. cit., pp. 159–60Google Scholar.

100 Op. cit., pp. xiii–xix.