THE STRAITS TRADING COMPANY LIMITED
The Straits Trading Company Limited is a Singapore-incorporated company registered with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) under UEN 188700008D, with a current registry status of active. The company traces its origins to a partnership between James Sword and Herman Muhlinghaus, who incorporated it in Singapore on 8 November 1887 with an initial capital of S$150,000, according to the company’s own published corporate history. This 1887 date, and not an earlier year sometimes shown against the entity, is consistent with the “1887” prefix carried in the company’s ACRA registration number.
The Straits Trading Company Limited began as a tin-smelting business, opening its first smelting works on Pulau Brani, Singapore, in 1890, and by 1912 the company’s own history describes it as the world’s largest tin smelter, supplying more than half of global tin output at the time. From the 1960s the group diversified beyond smelting into property, equity investments and, from 1997, hospitality. A change in controlling shareholder in 2008, associated with the Tecity Group, marked a further reorganisation of the business under Executive Chairman Chew Gek Khim, who was first appointed to the board on 20 March 2008.
The Straits Trading Company Limited today describes itself as a conglomerate-investment company organised around three segments: Resources, Property and Hospitality. In Resources, the company holds a 52% stake in Malaysia Smelting Corporation Berhad, a tin producer listed separately on Bursa Malaysia and described by the group as the third-largest integrated tin producer in the world. In Property, wholly owned subsidiaries including Straits Developments Pte. Ltd., STC Property Management Sdn. Bhd. and Straits Real Estate Pte. Ltd. hold direct and fund-based real estate interests across Singapore, Malaysia, China, Japan, Australia and South Korea. In Hospitality, the company holds a 30% interest in Far East Hospitality Holdings Pte. Ltd., a joint venture with Far East Orchard Limited formed in 2013 that, together with its own joint venture with Australia’s Toga Group, operates more than 100 hotel and serviced-residence properties across eight countries.
The Straits Trading Company Limited is listed on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) under the stock code S20. Public reporting has referred to an agreement announced in January 2026 for the group to divest a logistics asset in South Korea for approximately S$396 million; this development had not been independently confirmed against a primary SGX filing at the time this profile was compiled and should be treated as reported rather than verified. Company-level or segment financial figures are not included here beyond what is stated above, pending confirmation against the company’s own filed annual report.
- Company fundamentals
- Corporate linkage & group structures
- Digitized company financials
- Firmographics — websites, social profiles, revenue and employee estimates
Shareholders
5
Shareholders of The Straits Trading Company Limited
The available registry snapshot for The Straits Trading Company Limited (synced 11 August 2026) records ten disclosed shareholders, of which the largest recorded holding is Northern Lights Fd Tr IV-Moerus Worldwide Value Fd at approximately 17.9%, followed by DFA International Core Equity Portfolio at approximately 11.7%, iShares MSCI Global Metals & Mining Producers ETF at approximately 5.0%, DFA International Vector Equity Port at approximately 2.6% and DFA International Sustainability Core 1 Portfolio at approximately 2.2%. These are institutional fund managers holding positions consistent with index-tracking or sector-fund mandates rather than strategic or controlling stakes.
Separately, registry-sourced corporate-linkage data for the company identifies The Cairns Pte. Ltd. (Singapore, registration number 200502854M) as sitting directly above The Straits Trading Company Limited in the group’s ownership structure. No ownership percentage for this holding is disclosed in the data reviewed, and it has not been independently corroborated here against a Singapore Exchange substantial-shareholder notice, so it is presented as a registry-recorded corporate link rather than a confirmed controlling stake.
Ultimate beneficial ownership
No ultimate beneficial owner can be reliably identified from the available data. The Cairns Pte. Ltd. appears as a disclosed corporate holder in the ownership chain, but without a confirmed ownership percentage or a further trace to a natural person, an effective UBO percentage cannot be calculated.
Data availability
Shareholder disclosure for this SGX-listed company is major-shareholders-only: the ten-name registry snapshot and the corporate-linkage record each capture only a partial view of the register, and neither should be read as the company’s complete shareholder base as filed with ACRA or disclosed under SGX substantial-shareholding rules.
Sources
- Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA), Singapore — company registry data, last synced 11 August 2026
- The Straits Trading Company Limited, corporate-linkage/group registry data, retrieved September 2026
| Shareholder | Type | Holding | Source Document |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Lights Fd Tr IV-Moerus Worldwide Value Fd | 17.9% | Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) | |
| DFA International Core Equity Portfolio | 11.7% | Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) | |
| iShares MSCI Global Metals & Mining Producers ETF | 5% | Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) | |
| DFA International Vector Equity Port | 2.6% | Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) | |
| DFA International Sustainability Core 1 Portfolio | 2.2% | Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) |
Officers
18
Directors and officers of The Straits Trading Company Limited
According to the company’s own published leadership page, The Straits Trading Company Limited currently has ten serving directors. Chew Gek Khim serves as Executive Chairman, first appointed 20 March 2008 and last re-elected 30 April 2024. Non-independent, non-executive directors are Chew Gek Hiang (first appointed 30 April 2008), Chia Chee Ming, Timothy (first appointed 27 February 2015) and Gary Hilton Weiss (first appointed 29 April 2026). Independent, non-executive directors are Tan Chian Khong (Lead Independent Director, first appointed 1 January 2018), Chua Tian Chu (1 January 2018), Lau Cheng Soon (1 July 2022), Lee Chuan Seng (28 April 2023), Ho Tian Yee (1 July 2023) and Lin Diaan Yi (30 May 2024). Senior management named on the same source includes Eric Teng as Group Chief Operating Officer, Tan Hwei Yee as Chief Asset Management Officer and Chief Development Officer, Chan Bee Hong as Group Financial Controller (joined 26 November 2025) and Darren Wang as Deputy CEO of Straits Investment Management Private Limited (joined August 2025). None of these sources disclose nationality for any individual; nationality should be treated as not disclosed rather than inferred from name or reported location.
A separate registry data feed for the company (synced 11 August 2026) records 18 officer entries in total, of which a partial sample includes Heng Chew Teng and Eng Kwang Yeo (recorded job titles: Group Chief Operating Officer and Deputy Chief Investment Officer respectively), Travis Tan (Head of Investor Relations, consistent with the company’s own website) and May Ling Ngiam, recorded there as Company Secretary. This conflicts with the company’s own leadership page, which names Aw Siew Yen Patricia as Company Secretary, joining in November 2025; this discrepancy has not been resolved from the sources reviewed and is noted rather than adjudicated here. Correspondence addresses recorded in the registry feed (for example, a Singapore or United States address against individual officers) are service/correspondence locations only and must not be read as nationality or place of residence.
Data availability
Officer information for this SGX-listed Singapore company is partial: the company’s own leadership disclosure is current and gives exact appointment and re-election dates for directors, but the separate ACRA-linked registry feed used elsewhere in this profile appears to lag behind at least one recent appointment (the company secretary role) and was only partially retrieved (5 of 18 recorded entries). Nationality is not disclosed in either source.
Sources
- The Straits Trading Company Limited, official corporate website, leadership page, retrieved September 2026
- Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA), Singapore — officer registry data, last synced 11 August 2026
Registry feed — rows exactly as filed with Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA), including entries the profile above does not cover.
Group Structure
Group structure of The Straits Trading Company Limited
The Straits Trading Company Limited sits within a wider corporate group rather than operating independently. Registry-sourced corporate-linkage data records The Cairns Pte. Ltd. (Singapore, registration number 200502854M) directly above the company in the ownership structure, with no ownership percentage disclosed in the data reviewed. Beneath The Straits Trading Company Limited, the same data and the company’s own website corroborate a number of wholly owned or majority-owned operating subsidiaries organised by business segment: in property, Straits Developments Private Limited (Singapore, registration number 196300361H) and, through STC Capital Pte. Ltd. (registration number 201328966N), Straits Real Estate Pte. Ltd. (registration number 201331125Z) together with a series of single-purpose “SRE Venture” investment vehicles; in resources, a disclosed 52% stake in the separately listed Malaysia Smelting Corporation Berhad, which is not itself shown in the ACRA-linked entity list reviewed as it is a Malaysia-incorporated, Bursa Malaysia-listed company; and in hospitality, a disclosed 30% interest in Far East Hospitality Holdings Pte. Ltd., a joint venture rather than a subsidiary. A number of other Singapore-registered holding entities (including Sword Investments Private Limited, Atbara Holdings Private Limited, Baxterley Holdings Private Limited, Straits Trading Amalgamated Resources Private Limited and Sword Private Limited) also appear in the registry-linked structure without further business description or disclosed ownership percentage.
Verified corporate relationships
| Entity | Country | Registration number | Relationship | Ownership | Status | Information date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Cairns Pte. Ltd. | Singapore | 200502854M | Immediate parent (registry-recorded) | Ownership percentage not disclosed | Active | 11 August 2026 |
| Straits Developments Private Limited | Singapore | 196300361H | Direct subsidiary | Wholly owned, per company website | Active | September 2026 |
| Straits Real Estate Pte. Ltd. | Singapore | 201331125Z | Indirect subsidiary (via STC Capital Pte. Ltd.) | Wholly owned, per company website | Active | September 2026 |
| Malaysia Smelting Corporation Berhad | Malaysia | Not disclosed in data reviewed | Majority-owned associate (separately listed) | 52%, per company website | Active | September 2026 |
| Far East Hospitality Holdings Pte. Ltd. | Singapore | Not disclosed in data reviewed | Joint venture | 30%, per company website | Active | September 2026 |
Data availability
Corporate-linkage information for this group is partial: ACRA-linked registry data gives Singapore and Malaysia registration numbers for a number of wholly owned holding and property entities but does not disclose ownership percentages for any of them, while the company’s own website confirms percentage stakes for its three headline segment entities (Malaysia Smelting Corporation Berhad, Far East Hospitality Holdings Pte. Ltd. and its wholly owned property subsidiaries) without giving their registration numbers. The two sources are complementary rather than fully reconciled in this profile.
Sources
- Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA), Singapore — corporate-linkage registry data, last synced 11 August 2026
- The Straits Trading Company Limited, official corporate website — Resources, Property and Hospitality segment pages, retrieved September 2026
Registry feed — rows exactly as filed with Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA), including entries the profile above does not cover.
THE CAIRNS PTE. LTD.
Singapore
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is The Straits Trading Company Limited?
The Straits Trading Company Limited is a Singapore-incorporated conglomerate-investment company listed on the Singapore Exchange under the ticker S20, with businesses organised into Resources, Property and Hospitality segments.
When was The Straits Trading Company Limited founded?
According to the company's own published corporate history, it was incorporated in Singapore on 8 November 1887 by James Sword and Herman Muhlinghaus with an initial capital of S$150,000.
What is The Straits Trading Company Limited's registration number?
Its ACRA registration (UEN) is 188700008D. The "1887" prefix in this number is consistent with the company's own stated 1887 incorporation year.
Is there a discrepancy in The Straits Trading Company Limited's incorporation date?
Yes. Some records show an incorporation date of 1 November 1886, but the company's own corporate history page states it was incorporated on 8 November 1887, a date also consistent with the "1887" prefix of its ACRA registration number.
What was The Straits Trading Company Limited's original business?
The company began as a tin-smelting business, opening its first smelting works at Pulau Brani, Singapore, in 1890, and by 1912 its own history describes it as the world's largest tin smelter, supplying more than half of global tin output at the time.
How has The Straits Trading Company Limited's business changed over time?
From the 1960s the group diversified from tin smelting into property, equity investments and, from 1997, hospitality. A change in controlling shareholder in 2008, associated with the Tecity Group, brought further reorganisation under Executive Chairman Chew Gek Khim.
What business segments does The Straits Trading Company Limited operate today?
The company organises its business into three segments: Resources (tin production, chiefly through Malaysia Smelting Corporation Berhad), Property (real estate investment and management across several countries) and Hospitality (hotel and serviced-residence interests).
What stake does The Straits Trading Company Limited hold in Malaysia Smelting Corporation Berhad?
The company's own website states a 52% stake in Malaysia Smelting Corporation Berhad, a tin producer separately listed on Bursa Malaysia and described as the third-largest integrated tin producer in the world.
What is The Straits Trading Company Limited's interest in hospitality?
The company holds a 30% interest in Far East Hospitality Holdings Pte. Ltd., a joint venture formed with Far East Orchard Limited in 2013 that, together with a further joint venture with Australia's Toga Group, operates more than 100 hotel and serviced-residence properties across eight countries.
Who is the Executive Chairman of The Straits Trading Company Limited?
Chew Gek Khim serves as Executive Chairman, first appointed to the board on 20 March 2008 and last re-elected on 30 April 2024, according to the company's published leadership disclosure.
What are The Straits Trading Company Limited's main property subsidiaries?
Wholly owned property subsidiaries include Straits Developments Pte. Ltd., STC Property Management Sdn. Bhd. and Straits Real Estate Pte. Ltd., holding direct and fund-based real estate interests across Singapore, Malaysia, China, Japan, Australia and South Korea.
What is The Cairns Pte. Ltd.'s relationship to The Straits Trading Company Limited?
Registry-sourced corporate-linkage data records The Cairns Pte. Ltd. (Singapore, registration number 200502854M) directly above The Straits Trading Company Limited in the group's ownership structure, though no ownership percentage is disclosed in the data reviewed.
On which stock exchange is The Straits Trading Company Limited listed?
The Straits Trading Company Limited is listed on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) under the stock code S20.
What is the official website of The Straits Trading Company Limited?
The company's official corporate website is straitstrading.com.sg. Note that straitstrading.com is an unrelated UK-based homeware and giftware wholesaler and should not be confused with this Singapore-listed company.