Jardine Matheson
Jardine Matheson is a trading company that was founded in China in 1832. Its holdings are mostly in Asia.[1] It has been run by the Keswick family of Scotland since its founding.[2]
The company accumulated wealth in the 19th century in part through the Chinese opium trade.[3]
In 1970, Robert Fleming and Co entered into an investment banking joint venture with Hong Kong-based Jardine Matheson, forming Jardine Fleming. The tie-up was prompted by the long-standing family links between the Flemings and the Keswick family of Scotland, who have run Jardine Matheson since its founding.[4]
Tory funding and rainforest controversy
In April 2010 The Times reported that the Conservative Party had accepted donations from members of the Keswick family, which has been accused of profiting from the destruction of one of the few remaining rainforest habitats of the orang-utan. Thsi is in spite of the fact that the party has a policy of protecting orang-utans. The article said:
- Jardine, which has an office in the City of London and head office in Hong Kong, has a complex network of subsidiaries. These include Astra Agro Lestari (AAL), one of Indonesia’s largest palm oil companies, which is expanding its plantations in the Tripa region of Aceh in Sumatra, whose forests in the 1990s were home to 1,500 orang-utans, of which just 280 are left. AAL is cashing in on rising demand for palm oil, which is used in products such as detergents, biscuits and diesel.[5]
The Times reported in April 2010 that Sir Henry Keswick, chair of Jardine Matheson, had donated £213,000 to the Conservatives in the past eight years.[6] The same article reported that Simon Keswick, a director, had donated £99,500 to the Conservative Party since 2002.[7]
People
- Sir Henry Keswick - chair. Married to Tessa Keswick, president of the Devizes Tory association in Wiltshire.[8]
- Simon Keswick, a director.[9]
Notes
- ↑ Introduction: Jardine Matheson Group, Jardines website, acc 28 Apr 2010
- ↑ Jane Lewis, Profile: The Flemings, MoneyWeek, 21 Dec 2005, acc 30 Mar 2010
- ↑ Ben Webster, Tories accused of hypocrisy over destruction of orang-utan habitat, The Times, 27 Apr 2010
- ↑ Jane Lewis, Profile: The Flemings, MoneyWeek, 21 Dec 2005, acc 30 Mar 2010
- ↑ Ben Webster, Tories accused of hypocrisy over destruction of orang-utan habitat, The Times, 27 Apr 2010
- ↑ Ben Webster, Tories accused of hypocrisy over destruction of orang-utan habitat, The Times, 27 Apr 2010
- ↑ Ben Webster, Tories accused of hypocrisy over destruction of orang-utan habitat, The Times, 27 Apr 2010
- ↑ Ben Webster, Tories accused of hypocrisy over destruction of orang-utan habitat, The Times, 27 Apr 2010
- ↑ Ben Webster, Tories accused of hypocrisy over destruction of orang-utan habitat, The Times, 27 Apr 2010
