Jardine eyes more asset sales after $10.5 billion revamp spree

The 194-year-old conglomerate is shedding capital-intensive businesses and shifting toward an investment-firm model, with its Singapore-listed shares up more than 40% in the past year.

Jardine Matheson Holdings is considering selling additional assets including a Hong Kong office tower and its Mercedes-Benz dealership, as the conglomerate accelerates a transformation into an investment firm focused on higher-growth sectors, people familiar with the matter said.

"The group is fundamentally reshaping its portfolio — moving capital out of traditional heavy industries and into faster-growing markets," said one of the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private deliberations.

Among options under consideration, Mandarin Oriental International is weighing the sale of the remaining portion of One Causeway Bay in Hong Kong, after selling 13 floors to Alibaba Group Holding and Ant Group for HK$7.2 billion ($919 million) last year. Another potential divestment target is Zung Fu, Jardine's Mercedes-Benz dealership in Hong Kong and Macau, according to one of the people. The group has already put at least $1.8 billion worth of Hong Kong property on the market over the past year, Bloomberg-compiled data show.

The overhaul comes as Hong Kong's oldest trading houses face pressure to adapt to rising geopolitical tensions and rapid technological disruption. Chairman Ben Keswick announced in 2025 his desire to reposition the company toward investing rather than directly operating businesses, a pivot investors have rewarded. Jardine's Singapore-listed shares have climbed more than 40% over the past 12 months as it proposed or completed at least $10.5 billion in asset sales and acquisitions, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The group is also buying back shares to boost investor returns.

Pivot to Developed Asia-Pacific

Chief Executive Officer Lincoln Pan, who joined Jardine in December from private equity firm PAG where he was co-head of the business, is assembling an investment team to oversee the portfolio revamp, the people said. The group and its DFI Retail Group Holdings unit have also conducted several rounds of back-office layoffs as part of the streamlining effort.

Core to the new strategy are plans to expand in developed Asia-Pacific markets including Australia and Japan, capturing new growth opportunities while reducing exposure to Southeast Asia, which currently accounts for about 63% of Jardine's underlying profit. The company will look at sectors beyond its existing portfolio of heavy industries, real estate, retail and financial services, the people said.

In a sign of the shift, Jardine this week announced a $2.4 billion acquisition of I-MED Radiology Network, marking its expansion into Australia's medical diagnostics industry. The deal follows a string of divestitures: the group's restaurant unit has been seeking buyers for its KFC and Pizza Hut chains in Hong Kong and Taiwan, attracting interest from Carlyle Group and Yum China Holdings, Reuters reported this month. Jardine is also exploring a sale of its car dealership operations in Malaysia and Singapore.

Conglomerates are a deeply rooted feature of Hong Kong's commercial history — Jardine traces its roots to an opium trading house founded in 1832 and rose to prominence under British rule. But the business empires are increasingly pivoting away from traditional sectors favored by earlier generations. Billionaire Li Ka-shing's CK Hutchison Holdings is undertaking a similar repositioning as global trade dynamics shift and technology disrupts legacy industries. For Jardine, the challenge will be executing its pivot while maintaining investor confidence through a period of significant portfolio change.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.