The Borneo Story: The First Hundred Years of the Borneo Company Limited

Borneo Company Limited, formed in 1856, was one of the oldest companies based in East Malaysia (Sarawak and Sabah).

The Borneo Company Limited (BCL) was registered in London on 6 May 1856 and MacEwan & Co. was appointed as the company's Singapore agent. The MacEwan company was established in 1852 and was managed by John Harvey. BCL London had taken over the MacEwan Company in 1854. By 30 April 1857, the MacEwan Company was dissolved by BCL. BCL Singapore was established on 31 July 1857 and all the assets from MacEwan Company were transferred to BCL, including wharves in Telok Blangah, Singapore, and its branches in Batavia, Dutch East Indies (today Jakarta, Indonesia) and Bangkok, Thailand. BCL also extended its operations to Calcutta, Hong Kong, and Shanghai. The initial capital of the Borneo Company was £60,000 and the office was at 25 Mincing Lane. Its directors, including some close associates of White Rajah James Brooke, were Robert Henderson (of R.& J.Henderson, Glasgow merchants), John Charles Templer (friend of James Brooke), James Dyce Nicol, John Smith, Francis Richardson, and John Harvey (the latter two of MacEwan & Co. in Singapore).  The company was given exclusive rights to all minerals found in Sarawak, including gold, and the rights to operate as a merchant, ship owner, miner, agriculturist, and planter. (Wikipedia)