Boustead Holdings Berhad, one of Malaysia's oldest conglomerates, can trace its roots to 1828 when Edward Boustead founded a modest trading company in Singapore, shortly after Sir Stamford Raffles established the British Settlement in 1819. Its core business during those pioneering days was primarily import and export, as well as shipping and insurance agents. With trade growing between the two territories and as the Straits of Malacca became more important as a primary waterway between Europe and the Far East, Edward opened a branch in Penang in 1864. At the turn of the 20th century, Boustead in the year 1911 diversified its business interest and began trading in rubber. Moving up the value chain, the company expanded into the management and ownership of rubber estates while exporting sheet rubber and latex. As the new nation, Malaya grew rapidly, Boustead expanded its business interest to import and distribution of a variety of goods. In 1961, Boustead consolidated its various businesses to form a new public listed company known as Boustead & Co. Limited. In 1966, the entity changed its name to Boustead Holdings Berhad and in 1976, the Group became a wholly-owned Malaysian entity.