It is the corporate descendant of Arnhold, Karberg & Co., a company founded in 1857, and prominent "amongst the merchants who have contributed largely to the development of China's commerce" in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
In the opening decades of the twentieth century Canton (modern day Guangzhou) was the centre for trade, but it declined in importance with the development of ports in Hong Kong and Shanghai.
Lebert subsequently terminated his involvement in the firm, leading to the creation of Oxford and Co.[3] Arnhold & Karberg & Co. (德商瑞記洋行) was founded by Jacob Arnhold, a German Jewish businessman, and Peter Karberg, a Danish merchant, as a German-registered trading company in September 1866[4] on Honam island (the modern day Haizhu District), on the opposite bank of the Pearl River to Canton, where all the foreign offices were then located.
Representatives of German businesses in Hong Kong sent a letter dated 30 October to the American Consul General there asking him to submit it to the British authorities.
Sassoon & Co. became the majority shareholder in 1923 after a merger[13] According to Stella Dong, its "most attractive asset was the Cathay Land Company, ownership of which gave Sir Victor control of a number of apartment buildings and a hotel in the International Settlement as well as choice housing estates in the French Concession.
The group owns and operates a stone processing factory in Xiegang Town, Dongguan, Guangdong Province, in southern China.
The group services an extensive network of customers in Hong Kong, Macau and the Mainland including property developers, contractors, utility companies and government departments.