The head of Bermuda-based Jardine Matheson yesterday wrote to the UK’s Financial Times to back a No vote in the referendum on Scottish independence.

Sir Henry Keswick, the chairman of Jardine Matheson Holdings, a huge conglomerate involved in a variety of industries, is a direct descendant of the sister of Scotsman Dr William Jardine, who founded the firm with friend and fellow University of Edinburgh graduate James Matheson in Canton, China, in 1832.

The firm, later based in Hong Kong, moved its headquarters to Bermuda in 1984, ahead of the return of the territory to the Chinese government in 1997.

The following letter was published by the FT:

Sir, I am a humble Scottish merchant trading in the China Seas. My family has followed this profession for almost 200 years. When we are bearing the sticky heat of China’s Pearl River Delta or the tropical rainforests of equatorial Borneo, we dream about the cool, soft mist of the green Galloway hills where we were bred.

By hard work our businesses have thrived and the St Andrew’s Cross today flies proudly on some of the most valuable real estate on Earth. We are now a considerable offshore Scottish force employing 420,000 souls, and our reputation for Scottish good sense and standards is known all over Asia.

For generations we have returned to our roots in Scotland, and improved our stony farms and enlarged our marches. We believe we are an asset to Scotland, and we do not wish to become aliens in our own country, the UK. I strongly support the No vote.

— Sir Henry Keswick, Chairman, Jardine Matheson Holdings, London, UK