Yeo Hiap Seng Limited ( zh, t=楊協成, s=杨协成, p=Yáng Xiéchéng, poj=Iûⁿ Hia̍p-sêng, Commonly known as Yeo's) is a Singaporean beverage company. It operates as an investment

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

as well as a drink manufacturer in

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

and China. It is a

multinational corporation A multinational corporation (MNC; also called a multinational enterprise (MNE), transnational enterprise (TNE), transnational corporation (TNC), international corporation, or stateless corporation, is a corporate organization that owns and cont ...

that has offices and market presence in the US, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Maldives, Mauritius, Mongolia, Pacific Islands, Mainland 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 T ...

's Far East Organization, which also develops houses and

condominium A condominium (or condo for short) is an ownership regime in which a building (or group of buildings) is divided into multiple units that are either each separately owned, or owned in common with exclusive rights of occupation by individual own ...

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

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

, 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 Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

and

Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...

History

Establishment

The company's history dates back to 1900. Founded by Yeo Keng Lian ( zh, links=no, c=杨景连), a native of

Fujian Fujian is a provinces of China, province in East China, southeastern 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 capital is Fuzhou and its largest prefe ...

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

Zhangzhou Zhangzhou (, ) 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 (with Quanzhou) surrounding the prefecture of Xiamen. Nam ...

with the Yeo Hiap Seng Sauce Factory ( zh, links=no, c=杨协成) 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 historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

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, pioneer the bottling of

soy milk Soy milk (or soymilk), also known as soya milk, is a plant-based milk produced by soaking and grinding soybeans, boiling the mixture, and filtering out remaining particulates. It is a stable emulsion of oil, water, and protein. Its original ...

, and package Asian drinks in Tetra Brik 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 sterilization (microbiology), sterilizes liquid diet, liquid food by heating it above – the temperature required ...

system.

1990s and beyond

In June 1995, Robert Ng 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 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 ...

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 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