Jebsen & Jessen invests S$250 million for South East Asia expansion

The amount intended for expansionary plans over the next five years is by far the largest investment commitment the privately-held global conglomerate headquartered in Singapore has ever made, according to the management.

“During the past 5 years (2005 until and including 2009) we invested less than 20 percent of that,” Jebsen & Jessen (SEA) Chairman Heinrich Jessen told Singapore Business Review.

The industrial enterprise that is responsible for Singapore’s first TV telecast in colour, plans to double its size through organic growth and acquisitions across South East Asia within five years from 2010. It is specifically looking for strategic investments into or acquisitions of companies that could leverage its existing competencies.

“Expansion can be in the form of new products complementary to our existing range, new activities that focus on customer segments that we are already active in, activities that we are already active in but in new countries, or activities which are new but for which we already have relevant technical or managerial competencies and infrastructure,” Mr. Jessen said.

The company, whose current portfolio includes crane manufacturing, and communication-technology solutions, also noted that there are a number of companies that present unique acquisition opportunities.

For Singapore alone, the second largest market for JJSEA and accounts for 27% of its total revenue in the region, Mr. Jessen has this to say: “There are a large number of founder-managed SMEs in Singapore which were formed in the 1960s and 1970s and which now are having to deal with the question of succession due to the desire of the founders to retire.”

JJSEA is part of a global enterprise that dates back to a trading partnership formed in Hong Kong in 1895, and was established a company in Singapore in 1 Jan 1964, the year between Singapore’s independence from the UK (1963) and sovereignty (1965).

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