Yeo Hiap Seng Limited (, Commonly known as Yeo's) is a Singaporean

beverage company The drink industry (or drinks industry, also known as the beverage industry) produces drinks, in particular ready to drink products. Drink production can vary greatly depending on the product being made. ManufacturingDrinks.com explains that "bot ...

. It operates as an investment

holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own shares of other companies ...

as well as a drink manufacturer in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

and

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

. It is a

multinational corporation A multinational company (MNC), also referred to as a multinational enterprise (MNE), a transnational enterprise (TNE), a transnational corporation (TNC), an international corporation or a stateless corporation with subtle but contrasting senses, i ...

that has offices and market presence in the US, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Maldives, Mauritius, Mongolia, Pacific Islands, China, Hong Kong, Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam. Some of its house brands (See Below) include H-Two-O, Yeo's Asian Beverages, Justea, and Pink Dolphin. YHS majority shareholder is

Ng Teng Fong Ng Teng Fong (; 28 July 1928 – 2 February 2010) was a Singaporean real estate tycoon with a major presence in Hong Kong. He is the father of Robert Ng. In 1997, Forbes listed the two as the 30th richest people in the world. History Ng Teng Fo ...

Far East Organization Far East Organization is one of the largest private real estate developers in Singapore. It has businesses in property development, retail, hospitality, and food and beverage brands in Asia and Australia. The company was founded by the late Sin ...

, which also develops houses and

condominium A condominium (or condo for short) is an ownership structure whereby a building is divided into several units that are each separately owned, surrounded by common areas that are jointly owned. The term can be applied to the building or complex ...

s. The company also has operations in over 60 countries which includes

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

, China, Singapore, Malaysia, United States and franchises in

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

and

Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label=Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It incl ...

History

Establishment

The company's history dates back to 1900. Founded by Yeo Keng Lian (), a native of

Fujian Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capi ...

, China, who began his business career by making soy sauce in

Zhangzhou Zhangzhou (), alternately romanized as Changchow, is a prefecture-level city in Fujian Province, China. The prefecture around the city proper comprises the southeast corner of the province, facing the Taiwan Strait and surrounding the prefec ...

with the Yeo Hiap Seng Sauce Factory () in 1901. Then he immigrated to Singapore in the 1930s, where he re-established the Yeo Hiap Seng Sauce Factory in 1938. Yeo died in Singapore in 1960. The name Yeo Hiap Seng is of Christian origin, with Hiap Seng meaning unity of Christ as Yeo was

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

Corporate

Although founded in 1938, the company was incorporated in Singapore on 20 December 1955 as Yeo Hiap Seng Canning and Sauce Factory Private Limited and was listed on 7 November 1968 and renamed to its present shorter name. The 1950s saw the company can

curry chicken Chicken curry is a dish originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is common in the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, Great Britain, Caribbean, and Japan. A typical curry from the Indian subcontinent consists of chicken stewed in an onion- ...

, pioneer the bottling of

soy milk Soy milk (simplified Chinese: 豆浆; traditional Chinese: 豆漿) also known as soya milk or soymilk, is a plant-based drink produced by soaking and grinding soybeans, boiling the mixture, and filtering out remaining particulates. It is a sta ...

, and package Asian drinks in

Tetra Brik Tetra Brik is a brand name for a carton package produced by the Swedish packaging company Tetra Pak. Its shape is cubic or cuboid, and it is available with or without various different caps. The Tetra Brik is the best-known and most sold package ...

aseptic

containers A container is any receptacle or enclosure for holding a product used in storage, packaging, and transportation, including shipping. Things kept inside of a container are protected on several sides by being inside of its structure. The term ...

using the

Ultra-high temperature processing Ultra-high temperature processing (UHT), ultra-heat treatment, or ultra-pasteurization is a food processing technology that sterilizes liquid food by heating it above – the temperature required to kill bacterial endospores – for 2 ...

system.

1990s and beyond

In June 1995,

Robert Ng Robert Ng Chee Siong (; born 1952) is a Singaporean billionaire businessman, and the chairman of Hong Kong property development conglomerate Sino Group since 1991.Simplified Chinese version anTraditional Chinese version He is the eldest son o ...

took over as chairman of Yeo Hiap Seng (YHS). His chairmanship came at the same time as his family increased its stake in the company to 24.9%, just short of the 25% threshold above which they would be required by law to make an offer to buy out all other shareholders. This marked a step forward in his fight with Malaysian billionaire investor

Quek Leng Chan Tan Sri Quek Leng Chan (; born 8 December 1941) is a Malaysian tycoon who co-founded Hong Leong Group Malaysia. In 2018, Quek Leng Chan ranked #217 on the ''Forbes'' World's Billionaires list, with wealth listed at US$7.2 billion. As for 16 Febr ...

for control of YHS and its land holdings in Singapore's

Bukit Timah Bukit Timah, often abbreviated as Bt Timah, is a planning area and residential estate located in the westernmost part of the Central Region of Singapore. Bukit Timah lies roughly from the Central Business District, bordering the Central Wa ...

district, which could be worth billions of dollars were they redeveloped into residential real estate. In the end, Ng and his father were able to successfully take advantage of squabbles within the Yeo family to buy up 86% of YHS' stock. Their battle to gain control of the company was later described as "one of the most colourful take-over struggles in Singapore's history" and led to YHS' transformation from a food company to a

luxury real estate Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more general ...

developer.

References

Bibliography

External links

* {{Milk substitutes 1900 establishments in Singapore Brand name condiments Companies listed on the Singapore Exchange Food manufacturers of Singapore Singaporean brands Sino Group Soy product brands