# Sime Darby: From Colonial Trading House to Three Listed Companies > Sime Darby traces to 19th-century trading houses, merged into a single conglomerate in 2007, then split in 2017 into three separately listed companies covering motors and industrial, plantations, and property. - Category: companies - Language: en - Status: published - Updated: 2026-07-28 - Canonical: https://negaraku.md/en/companies/sime-darby-group --- One of Malaysia's oldest corporate names is now three companies, not one. ## What is Sime Darby today? Sime Darby began as a pair of colonial-era trading and plantation houses and grew into a sprawling Malaysian conglomerate. In a 2017 demerger it was split into three separately listed businesses, each anchored to a core activity: motors and industrial equipment, oil palm plantations, and property development. The three companies still share the Sime Darby heritage and a common major shareholder, but they are independently listed on Bursa Malaysia and run their own boards and strategies. ## Where did Sime Darby come from? The lineage runs deep. Guthrie & Co was founded in Singapore in 1821 by Alexander Guthrie, described as the first British trading company in South East Asia. In October 1910, William Sime and Henry Darby established Sime, Darby and Co. in the rubber trade. (These founding dates are widely reported but should be confirmed against a primary heritage source.) In January 2007 three Malaysian plantation groups — Sime Darby, Kumpulan Guthrie and Golden Hope — merged into a vehicle called Synergy Drive, which was renamed Sime Darby Berhad. That created the modern conglomerate. A milestone in that lineage came in 1981, when Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB) wrested control of Guthrie, bringing one of the industry's giants under Malaysian control. ## What did the 2017 demerger create? In November 2017, Sime Darby Berhad separately listed two of its subsidiaries — Sime Darby Plantation Berhad and Sime Darby Property Berhad — on Bursa Malaysia's Main Market on 30 November 2017. The result was three stand-alone listed companies, ending the old conglomerate structure. Sime Darby Berhad was the least focused of the three at that point: alongside its motors and industrial-equipment core it retained trading, logistics and healthcare businesses, which it later moved to divest. | Company | Core business | Ticker (verify) | Notes | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Sime Darby Berhad (now "Sime") | Automotive and industrial equipment | SIME | Distributes luxury marques and Caterpillar equipment; acquired UMW Holdings | | SD Guthrie Berhad (formerly Sime Darby Plantation) | Oil palm plantations and downstream | SIMEPLT | Rebranded from Sime Darby Plantation in 2024 | | Sime Darby Property Berhad | Real estate development | SIMEPROP | Among Malaysia's largest listed property developers by land bank | ## What does each company do now? **Sime Darby Berhad**, rebranded to "Sime" in November 2024, concentrates on automotive retail and industrial equipment. It is a regional distributor of premium car brands and a long-standing Caterpillar dealer. In 2023–2024 it acquired UMW Holdings: through subsidiary Sime Darby Enterprise it completed the purchase of a 61.18% stake from PNB for RM3.574 billion on 13 December 2023, then reached 100% ownership on 21 March 2024 for a total of RM5.84 billion. UMW brings mass-market vehicle brands including Toyota and Perodua, substantially enlarging Sime's automotive footprint. In the November 2024 rebrand, Sime Darby Motors became Sime Motors and UMW became Sime UMW, with the group positioning itself as a "pure-play powerhouse in the automotive and industrial equipment segments." **SD Guthrie Berhad** is the former Sime Darby Plantation, one of the world's largest oil palm plantation companies by planted area. Shareholders approved the rebrand on 28 May 2024, with 99.99% in favour. As a demerged company it had paid an annual fee to Sime Darby Berhad under a Brand and Trademark Licensing Agreement; the new name — rooted in the Guthrie heritage that PNB brought under Malaysian control in 1981 — ends that fee and gives it full ownership of its identity. **Sime Darby Property Berhad** develops townships and communities and is among Malaysia's largest listed property developers by land bank, with holdings spanning Selangor to Johor and a development pipeline built over more than five decades. ## Why does this structure matter? The demerger let investors buy exposure to a single sector rather than a blended conglomerate, and gave each management team clearer accountability. It also explains why "Sime Darby" heritage now sits across three different Bursa Malaysia tickers. Ownership ties remain: Malaysian state investment fund Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB) is a major shareholder across the group, and PNB was the seller of the UMW stake that Sime Darby Berhad acquired. Exact shareholding percentages change over time and should be checked against each company's latest Bursa Malaysia filings. ## What's next Sime Darby Berhad is integrating UMW under the new Sime UMW and Sime Motors brands, consolidating a large share of Malaysia's automotive market. SD Guthrie continues its plantation and downstream strategy under its own identity. Sime Darby Property continues to monetise its large land bank. Figures such as revenue, market capitalisation and current shareholding percentages change frequently and should be checked against each company's latest Bursa Malaysia filings and annual reports. ## Sources - Sime to acquire remaining stake in UMW / completes 61.18% acquisition — https://paultan.org/2023/12/14/sime-darby-completes-acquisition-of-stake-in-umw/ (Paul Tan's Automotive News (paultan.org)) - Sime Darby completes 100% UMW acquisition for RM5.8bil — https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/business/2024/03/21/sime-darby-completes-100-umw-acquisition-for-rm5-8bil (Free Malaysia Today) - Sime Darby Motors becomes Sime Motors following group's rebranding — UMW now known as Sime UMW — https://paultan.org/2024/11/20/sime-darby-motors-becomes-sime-motors-following-groups-rebranding-umw-now-known-as-sime-umw/ (Paul Tan's Automotive News (paultan.org)) - Sime Darby Plantation rebrands to SD Guthrie — https://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2024/05/28/sime-darby-plantation-rebrands-to-sd-guthrie (The Star) - Sime Darby Plantation Rebrands to SD Guthrie — https://www.sdguthrie.com/press-releases/sime-darby-plantation-rebrands-to-sd-guthrie (SD Guthrie Berhad) - Strong debut by Sime Darby but plantations, property fall (30 Nov 2017 listing) — https://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2017/11/30/strong-debut-by-sime-darby-but-plantations-property-fall/ (The Star) - About Us (land bank / developer positioning) — https://www.simedarbyproperty.com/who-we-are/about-us (Sime Darby Property Berhad) --- Source of truth: https://github.com/negaraku-md/NegaraKu.md License: CC BY-SA 4.0