Editing Swire

{{Short description|Hong Kong-British multinational conglomerate}}
{{For|people named Swire|Swire (surname)}}
{{EngvarB|date=July 2020}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}

{{Infobox company
| name = Swire Group
| logo = Swire.svg
| logo_size = 220px
| image= Pacific Place Tower 1 2014.jpg
| image_size = 220px
| image_caption = Hong Kong headquarters at [[Pacific Place (Hong Kong)|One Pacific Place]]
| type = {{plainlist|
* [[Private company limited by shares]] (John Swire & Sons Limited)
* [[Public company|Public]] (Swire Pacific Limited)}}
| traded_as = {{plainlist|
* Swire Pacific Limited:
* {{sehk|19}} (A-shares)
* {{sehk|87}} (B-shares)
* [[Hang Seng Index|Hang Seng]] component (19)}}
| foundation = {{start date and age|1816}}
| location = [[Pacific Place (Hong Kong)|One Pacific Place]], [[Hong Kong]] (Operational HQ)<br> [[London]] (Registered HQ) [https://www.swire.com/en/global/privacy.php] <br /> <small>(Hong Kong but with registered office in London for '''John Swire & Sons Limited (UK)''' and some other related entities and subsidiaries)</small>
| key_people = [[Barnaby Swire]], Chairman, John Swire & Sons Limited, Merlin Bingham Swire, (Chairman, Swire Pacific)
| revenue  = {{increase}} [[Sterling pound|£]]12.08 billion (2021)<ref>https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/00133143/filing-history. Retrieved 13 November 2022.</ref><br>[[US$]]16.3 billion
| num_employees = 100,000+ <ref name="About us">{{cite web|url=https://www.swire.com/en/about/overview.php|title=Swire About Us|access-date=13 November 2022|publisher=Swire Group|url-status=dead|archive-date=2 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190702165755/https://www.swire.com/en/about/overview.php}}</ref>
| industry = [[Conglomerate (company)|Conglomerate]]
| products = [[Property]], aviation, [[drink|beverages]], [[food chain]], [[freight transport|shipping]], offshore support services, agriculture, manufacturing, wholesale and retail, mining etc.
| subsid = Swire Pacific <br/>
Steamships Trading Company <br/>
Swire Beverages <br/>
[[The China Navigation Company|Swire Shipping]] <br/>
[[Swire Resources]] <br/>
Swire Foods
| homepage = [http://www.swire.com/ Swire.com]
}}
{{Infobox Chinese|order=ts|t=太古集團|s=太古集团|showflag=jy|j=taai3 gu2 zaap6 tyun4|p=Tàigǔ Jítuán}}
'''Swire Group''' ({{lang-zh|t=太古集團}}) is a highly diversified global conglomerate with its parent company being '''John Swire & Sons Limited''' that holds controlling stakes in a range of businesses trading in the UK, USA, Australia, Papua New Guinea, East and West Africa, and across Southeast Asia. The Group's businesses are arranged into groups: property, aviation, beverages and food chain, marine services, and trading and industrial.

Its core businesses are mainly focused on Asia, with its key operations in Hong Kong and the Chinese Mainland. Within Asia, Swire's activities come under the group's publicly quoted arm, '''Swire Pacific Limited''', which is the largest shareholder in two Hong Kong listed companies: Swire Properties and Cathay Pacific. '''Taikoo''' ({{lang|zh-HK|太古}}) is the [[Sinitic languages|Chinese]] name of Swire. It serves as the [[brand name]] for businesses such as [[Taikoo Sugar Refinery|Taikoo Sugar]], [[Taikoo Li Chengdu|Taikoo Li]] and [[Taikoo Shing]].

==History==
The Swire Group's privately owned parent company is London-based ''John Swire & Sons Limited''.<ref>The Archives of John Swire & Sons are held at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), London. http://www.soas.ac.uk/library/archives/</ref> The Swire Group, started by John Swire (1787–1847) in 1816, had its beginnings as a modest [[Liverpool]] import-export company based mainly on the textile trade.<ref>The archives of John Swire & Sons Ltd are held at the [[School of Oriental and African Studies]], London, http://www.soas.ac.uk/library/archives/</ref>

''Swire Pacific Offshore Holdings Limited'' (SPO), was a wholly owned subsidiary of Swire Pacific, supplying chartered vessels that supported the offshore oil and gas industry worldwide. It owned a fleet of 69 offshore vessels.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.swirepacific.com/eng/ir/reports/ar08.pdf|title=Annual Report 2008|publisher=Swire|page=39|access-date=4 October 2009|archive-date=29 September 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110929233346/http://www.swirepacific.com/eng/ir/reports/ar08.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> Tidewater entered into a definitive agreement to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Swire Pacific Offshore (SPO), a subsidiary of Swire Pacific Limited, for approximately $190 million in early March 2022. Tidewater announced the completion of its acquisition of Swire Pacific Offshore on Friday 22 April 2022.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.offshore-energy.biz/tidewater-adds-50-vessels-to-its-fleet-after-taking-over-singapore-operator/ | title=Tidewater adds 50 vessels to its fleet after taking over Singapore operator | date=25 April 2022 }}</ref>

== Businesses ==

=== Swire Pacific Limited ===
The Swire Group's core businesses in Hong Kong are held by '''Swire Pacific Limited''', listed on the [[Hong Kong Stock Exchange]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.swirepacific.com/Eng/index.htm |title=The Official Website of Swire Pacific |publisher=swirepacific.com |access-date=20 April 2012}}</ref> It also operates ''Swire Beverages Holdings Ltd'' and ''Swire Foods Holdings Ltd'' for their beverages and food chain group.

==== Cathay Pacific Airways ====

In 1948, Swire Pacific acquired [[Cathay Pacific]], Hong Kong's largest airline, and remains as the largest shareholder, with 42%.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.executivetraveller.com/news/cathay-pacific-government-rescue-bailout |title=Hong Kong govt takes stake in Cathay Pacific though $7bn rescue |date=9 June 2020 |publisher=executivetraveller.com |access-date=9 June 2020}}</ref>

==== Swire Properties ====

Incorporated in 1972, [[Swire Properties]] develops and manages commercial, retail and residential properties, with a particular focus on mixed-use development in prime locations at major mass transportation intersections.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.swireproperties.com/Eng/index.htm |title=The Official Website of Swire Properties |publisher=Swireproperties.com |access-date=20 April 2012 |archive-date=26 February 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090226130624/http://www.swireproperties.com/Eng/index.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The company's investment portfolio in Hong Kong totals approximately 17.8&nbsp;million sq ft (approximately 1.66&nbsp;million square metres<ref group=note name="floorspace">Gross floor area in respect of 100% of the properties excluding car park areas and not on an attributable basis.</ref>) of gross floor area, with [[Pacific Place (Hong Kong)|Pacific Place]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pacificplace.com.hk/en/ |title=Pacific Place Hong Kong |publisher=Pacificplace.com.hk |access-date=20 April 2012}}</ref> [[Island East]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.islandeast.com/eng/index.htm |title=Island East |publisher=Island East |date=29 June 2010 |access-date=20 April 2012 |archive-date=10 January 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140110052040/http://www.islandeast.com/eng/index.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> as its core holdings.

In addition to Hong Kong, the company has a presence in China, the United States and the United Kingdom. In China, Swire Properties has a portfolio amounting to approximately 12.9&nbsp;million sq ft (approximately 1.20&nbsp;million square metres<ref group=note name="floorspace" />), the majority of which is under construction. The five projects consist of mixed-use developments in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chengdu,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.swireproperties.com/en/our-portfolios/future-developments/Pages/index.aspx |title=Future Developments |publisher=Swire Properties |access-date=20 April 2012 |archive-date=11 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140211023713/http://www.swireproperties.com/en/our-portfolios/future-developments/Pages/index.aspx |url-status=dead }}</ref> with Sanlitun Village<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sanlitunvillage.com/eng/pages/index.aspx |title=Sanlitun Village Shopping & Life Style Centre |publisher=Sanlitunvillage.com |access-date=20 April 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120421075823/http://www.sanlitunvillage.com/eng/Pages/index.aspx |archive-date=21 April 2012 }}</ref> and The Opposite House hotel<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theoppositehouse.com/ |title=Boutique Luxury Hotel – Beijing |publisher=The Opposite House |access-date=20 April 2012}}</ref> in Beijing being the best-known among them.

In 2008, the company formed [[Swire Hotels]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.swirehotels.com |title=Home page |publisher=swirehotels.com |access-date=20 April 2012}}</ref> to create and manage urban hotels in Hong Kong, China and the United Kingdom.

==== Swire Resources ====
[[Swire Resources]] is a Hong Kong retail company specializing in sports apparel, swimwear, and footwear.

The company is the Hong Kong distributor for several major international brands, including [[Aldo Group|Aldo]], [[Arena (swimwear)|Arena]], [[Columbia Sportswear]], [[Crocs]], [[Rockport (company)|Rockport]], and [[Speedo]].

=== Swire Shipping ===
[[China Navigation Company|Swire Shipping]] is the wholly owned shipping arm of John Swire & Sons Limited, headquartered in [[Singapore]]. It operates shipping agencies for its liner shipping trades.

The company has a 67% shareholding in ''Quadrant Pacific'' of [[New Zealand]] that provides third-party agency services to the forestry and oil industries, as well as husbandry services.

=== Swire Bulk ===
'''Swire Bulk''' is a company that is in HK.

=== Steamships Trading Company ===
'''Steamships Trading Company''' is a diversified leader in shipping, transport, property and commercial operation in Papua New Guinea.

The company has a 70% shareholding in ''Consort Express Lines'', a leading provider of coastal and river shipping services in Papua New Guinea. Its liner trades service 17 ports in Papua New Guinea and the company also provides project charters.

The company has a 100% shareholding in ''Pacific Towing'', which has a harbor towing, offshore support and salvage operation that owns and operates 12 tugs and nine line boats across seven ports in Papua New Guinea.

=== John Swire and Sons (Green Investments) Ltd ===

'''John Swire & Sons (Green Investments) Ltd''' has acquired Scottish biodiesel producer Argent Energy. Argent Energy pioneered large scale commercial biodiesel production in the UK when it started production at its plant near Motherwell in Scotland in 2005.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.argentenergy.com/who-we-are/ |title=Who We Are |publisher=Argent Energy |access-date=28 March 2018}}</ref> The firm makes its road fuel by recycling wastes and residues from other industries – specifically used cooking oil which is a waste from the food industry, tallow from the meat industry, and sewer grease.

=== Swire Coca-Cola ===

Swire is an anchor bottler in the [[Coca-Cola]] System. It is the bottler of Coca-Cola and its related products in 11 provinces and the Shanghai Municipality in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Cambodia, Vietnam, and 13 states in the western United States.<ref>[https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Food-Beverage/Swire-buys-Coca-Cola-bottlers-in-Vietnam-Cambodia-for-1bn2 Swire buys Coca-Cola bottlers in Vietnam, Cambodia for $1bn]</ref> This territory represents a population of 780 million people.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.swire.com/en/businesses/beverages_foodchain.php |title=Beverages & Food Chain |publisher=Swire |access-date= March 23, 2023 }}</ref>

==Chairmen==

=== Chairmen of Swire Pacific ===
''Swire Pacific was formed in 1974 (from Taikoo Swire) to become the main holding company for Swire's Hong Kong–based assets.''

# [[John Henry Bremridge|John Bremridge]], 1974–1980
# [[Duncan Bluck]], 1981–1984
# Michael Miles, 1984–1988
# David Gledhill, 1988–1992
# Peter Sutch, 1992–1999
# [[James Hughes-Hallett]], 1999–2004 
# David Turnbull, 2005–2006 
#[[Christopher Dale Pratt|Christopher Pratt]], 2006–2014 
# [[John Slosar]], 2014–2018 (First non-British citizen as chairman)<ref>{{Cite news|last=Dvorak|first=Joanne Chiu And Phred|date=2014-08-17|title=Swire Pacific Grooms Talent for the Long Term|language=en-US|work=Wall Street Journal|url=https://online.wsj.com/articles/swire-pacific-grooms-talent-for-the-long-term-1408300737|access-date=2020-12-28|issn=0099-9660}}</ref>
# [[Merlin Bingham Swire|Merlin Swire]], 2018–2021 (First Swire family chairman)
#Guy Bradley, since 2021

==See also==
{{Portal|London|Companies}}
* [[List of bottling companies]]
* [[List of oilfield service companies]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book |last1=Bickers |first1=Robert |title=China Bound: John Swire & Sons and Its World, 1816 – 1980 |date=5 March 2020 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-4729-4995-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rs_ODwAAQBAJ |language=en}}
*{{cite book |last1=Jones |first1=Geoffrey |last2=Zeitlin |first2=Jonathan |title=The Oxford Handbook of Business History |date=24 January 2008 |publisher=OUP Oxford |isbn=978-0-19-926368-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uz5Vr5sMY_gC&pg=PA252 |language=en}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
*{{Official website|http://www.swire.com/}}

{{Swire}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Swire Group| ]]
[[Category:Companies established in 1816]]
[[Category:Conglomerate companies of Hong Kong]]
[[Category:Conglomerate companies of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Companies listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange]]
[[Category:Companies formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange]]
[[Category:Multinational companies headquartered in Hong Kong]]
[[Category:History of foreign trade in China]]
[[Category:Former companies in the Hang Seng Index]]
[[Category:Conglomerate companies of China]]
[[Category:British companies established in 1816]]
[[Category:Swire family]]
[[Category:Oneworld]]
[[Category:Trading companies of China]]
[[Category:Trading companies established in the 19th century]]