Biography

William Middleton Sime, a Scottish businessman cum adventurer, and Henry D’Esterre Darby, an English banker who owned property in Perak state, founded Sime, Darby & Co. in 1910, initially as a means to acquire a number of rubber plantations in Malacca, British Malaya [Malaysia]. Sime, Darby & Co. rapidly established itself as a leading agency house in the region, rivalling the older, more established agencies such as Boustead and Guthrie’s. In 1915, the firm opened an office in Singapore and in 1930 an office in Kuala Lumpur. The firm initially acted as agents for various rubber plantations and later diversified into palm oil, cocoa, timber and motor insurance. In 1929, Sime Darby purchased Sarawak Trading Company beginning a long association with heavy equipment trading and distribution. During the disruption of the Second World War, the firm’s operations moved away from the Malayan Peninsula to Singapore. Following independence the Malaysian government pursued a policy of aggressive ‘Malaysianisation’ under the aegis of its New Economic Plan. Accordingly 1976 marked the start of Malaysian management of Sime, Darby & Co. with the appointment of Tin Tan Siew Sin as chairman and the departure of foreign directors. Sime Darby Berhad was incorporated in Malaysia in 1978 and established its head office in Kuala Lumpur. The company began trading on the Malaysian Stock Exchange in 1980. In 2007, the Sime Darby Group merged with two of the other largest plantation companies in Malaysia, Kumpulan Guthrie Berhad and Golden Hope Plantations Berhad (and their respective subsidiaries), to form Synergy Drive. The new company was renamed Sime Darby Berhad in November 2007 and was listed on the Malaysian Stock Exchange. The company operates in over 20 countries or territories mostly across Southeast Asia and Australasia. The group’s core business is in plantations (upstream and downstream), property, heavy equipment distribution, motor vehicle distribution, energy and utilities, and healthcare.