Take, for example, Hong Kong-headquartered holding company Jardine Matheson (LSE:JAR), which was founded in 1832 as a trading partnership between two Scotsmen in Asia. The company has diversified considerably since then, and while Jardine Mathe- son’s organizational complexity can be a bit daunting, peeling back the layers reveals what we consider to be a collection of excellent business franchises predominantly across Greater China and Southeast Asia, including ultra-high-end real estate, a global luxury hotel chain, consumer retail outlets, and automobile and machinery distri- bution. The company’s management team—many of whom are descendants of the founding Keswick family, which collectively owns more than $1 billion of company stock7—has proved to be a good steward of capital over the long term.
From First Eagle Investment (Trades, Portfolio)'s September 2019 commentary, International Equity: Selectivity in a Vast and Varied Market.
