For a company with so much history, Jardines’ influence is far quieter, but far more widespread in Asia than most of its customers realise, write Jennifer Hughes and Ben Bland.
Any Hong Kong resident will be familiar with the trading house’s main operations because of its intertwined history with the territory. But in Indonesia, a more recent conquest, the majority of customers will never have heard of Jardines even though many will spend their days using its products and those of Astra, the conglomerate that Jardines controls.
A typical office worker in Jakarta might drive to work on an Astra-owned toll road in an Astra-manufactured Toyota Avanza, financed and insured by Astra.