Volume 3 Issue 1 | 2026 | View PDF
Paper Id:IJMSM-V3I1P111
doi: 10.71141/30485037/V3I1P111

The Transformation of the Bank of Indochina: From a Bank of Issue to a Major Investor in the Rubber Industry of Cochinchina (1875–1945)

Duong To Quoc Thai

Citation:
Duong To Quoc Thai, "The Transformation of the Bank of Indochina: From a Bank of Issue to a Major Investor in the Rubber Industry of Cochinchina (1875–1945)" International Journal of Multidisciplinary on Science and Management, Vol. 3, No. 1, pp. 102-108, 2026.

Abstract:
This article examines the strategic transformation of the Bank of Indochina (BIC) from a primary bank of issue into a powerful investment entity within the rubber sector of Cochinchina between 1875 and 1945. Utilizing historical methods and analyzing data from colonial financial reports, the study elucidates how the BIC expanded its influence through long-term credit provision and equity participation in major French rubber companies. The findings indicate that, following the 1929 economic crisis, the BIC distinctly adopted the role of a "banque d'affaires" (investment bank) by restructuring debts and acquiring underperforming plantations, thereby establishing a financial-plantation monopoly network. This research asserts that the BIC was not merely a tool for currency circulation but functioned as the financial "heart" driving French economic colonization in Indochina. The paper provides critical insights into the colonial financial capitalism model and its implications for the economic structure of Cochinchina during this period.

Keywords: Bank of Indochina, Cochinchina Rubber, Economic Colonization, Investment Bank, Colonial Credit, Financial Capitalism, Monopoly Formation.

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