Keppel Corporation (also known as Keppel Corp) is a Singaporean conglomerate headquartered in Keppel Bay Tower,

HarbourFront Harbourfront may refer to: * Harbourfront (Toronto), a neighbourhood in Toronto ** 509 Harbourfront, Toronto streetcar route **Harbourfront Centre, cultural organization on the waterfront of Toronto * HarbourFront (Singapore), waterfront site in Si ...

. The company consists of several affiliated businesses that specialises in offshore & marine, property, infrastructure and asset management businesses. The company was founded in 1968 as Keppel Shipyard at the

Keppel Harbour Keppel Harbour (; ms, Pelabuhan Keppel), also called the Keppel Channel and formerly New Harbour, is a stretch of water in Singapore between the mainland and the southern islands of Pulau Brani and Sentosa (formerly Pulau Blakang Mati). Its natur ...

situated in

Tanjong Pagar Tanjong Pagar ( alternatively spelled ''Tanjung Pagar'') is a historic district located within the Central Business District in Singapore, straddling the Outram Planning Area and the Downtown Core under the Urban Redevelopment Authority's urb ...

before moving its operations to Jurong, where the company focused on offshore and marine activities. Notable Keppel subsidiaries include Keppel Offshore & Marine (world's largest oil rig builder) and Keppel Land (world's 2nd most sustainable diversified real estate developer).

History

1900 to 1980s: Keppel Harbour, establishment of Keppel Shipyard and expansion

The name of the company ''Keppel'' was derived from a British ship captain, Captain

Henry Keppel Admiral of the Fleet The Honourable Sir Henry Keppel (14 June 1809 – 17 January 1904) was a Royal Navy officer. His first command was largely spent off the coast of Spain, which was then in the midst of the First Carlist War. As commanding off ...

, who discovered a natural, deepwater harbour (the Keppel Harbour) in Tanjong Pagar in 1848. The harbour was previously known as New Harbour until 1900 when the acting governor of Singapore, Sir Alexander Swettenham, renamed the harbour to Keppel Harbour in the honour of Captain Henry Keppel when he visited Singapore in 1900. In 1968,

Temasek Holdings Temasek Holdings (Private) Limited, or simply Temasek, is a Singaporean state holding company owned by the Government of Singapore. Incorporated on 25 June 1974, Temasek owns and manages a total of US$496.59 billion (S$671 billion) in assets u ...

founded Keppel Shipyard when Keppel Harbour was taken over from the British Royal Navy after it withdrew from the island. In the 1970s and 1980s, Keppel Corporation focused on diversification within the company and regionalisation with the first overseas venture in 1975, Keppel Philippines Shipyard was set up in partnership with Filipino investors, with head offices in Cebu and Manila. In 1978, Keppel then ventured into the finance industry by providing financial services to marine contractors under Shin Loong Credit (renamed Shin Loong Finance) which propelled the growth and expansion of the financial services provided by Keppel. Keppel then ventured into the property market in 1983 after acquiring Straits Steamship Company, an established shipping company with substantial land holdings in Singapore. The Straits Steamship Company was then renamed to Straits Steamship Land (now known as Keppel Land) to focus on the property market.

1990–1999: Expanding into the banking industry and moving of operations

In 1990, with the acquisition of Asia Commercial Bank, Keppel Corporation established banking and financial services as a major pillar of growth for the company and in 1997 Keppel Bank acquired Tat Lee Bank, resulting in an enlarged bank called Keppel TatLee Bank to expand its services in the banking industry. In 1999, Keppel Shipyard (now known as Keppel Offshore & Marine group) moved its operations base from Keppel Harbour to Jurong to expand Keppel Corporation's offshore and marine operations in yards around Tuas, Gul and Benoi, which were close to one another and also to develop the land which Keppel Harbour was situated on into waterfront residential area.

2001 to present

In 2001, Keppel divested its banking and financial services business and privatised its offshore and marine business which resulted in the integration of Keppel Shipyard together with Keppel FELS and Keppel Singmarine to form the Keppel Offshore & Marine group in 2002. In 2015, Keppel Shipyard got a secured floating Production storage and Offloading conversion project worth of $89 million. The project includes repair, upgrade and modification. FPSO Conversion has already started and it is going to be completed in third quarter of 2016. They were the recipients of the Business China Enterprise Award in 2015, for their contributions to China-Singapore business relations.

Subsidiaries

Keppel Group of Companies includes subsidiaries, associated companies, as well as shareholdings in other companies.

Key subsidiaries

*Keppel Offshore & Marine **Keppel FELS **Keppel Singmarine **Keppel Shipyard *Keppel Land *Keppel Bay *Keppel Infrastructure Holdings *Keppel Telecommunications & Transportation *Keppel Capital Holdings *Ixom

Partially owned subsidiaries and shareholdings in other companies

Bribery probe

In a press release after an American subsidiary pleaded guilty in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, U.S. prosecutors said Keppel units paid about $55 million to win 13 contracts with

Petrobras Petróleo Brasileiro S.A., better known by the portmanteau Petrobras (), is a state owned enterprise, state-owned Brazilian multinational corporation in the petroleum industry headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The company's name transla ...

and another company. The payments, through a series of shell companies, were bribes disguised as consulting agreements. Keppel Offshore & Marine USA pleaded guilty to the bribery scheme which ran for more than a decade, while its parent, Singapore-based Keppel Offshore & Marine, entered into a deferred-prosecution agreement with the government. It agreed to pay $422 million to end the U.S. bribery probe.

References

External links

Keppel CorporationKeppel Corporation Heritage
{{FTSE STI constituents 1968 establishments in Singapore Companies listed on the Singapore Exchange Conglomerate companies established in 1968 Shipbuilding companies of Singapore Singaporean brands Singaporean companies established in 1968 Conglomerate companies of Singapore Multinational companies headquartered in Singapore