Volume 3 Issue 2 | 2026 | View PDF
Paper Id:IJMSM-V3I2P102
doi: 10.71141/30485037/V3I2P102

The Role of the Bank of Indochina in the Formation and Expansion of Rubber Conglomerates in Cochinchina, 1875-1945

Dr. Duong To Quoc Thai, Dr. Duong Thi Ngoc Minh

Citation:
Dr. Duong To Quoc Thai, Dr. Duong Thi Ngoc Minh, "The Role of the Bank of Indochina in the Formation and Expansion of Rubber Conglomerates in Cochinchina, 1875-1945" International Journal of Multidisciplinary on Science and Management, Vol. 3, No. 2, pp. 06-14, 2026.

Abstract:
This paper investigates the decisive role of the Bank of Indochina (BIC) in the formation and expansion of rubber conglomerates in Cochinchina from 1875 to 1945. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach, the study elucidates that the BIC functioned not merely as a conventional credit institution but as a financial "architect" driving the colonization process through the rubber sector. Research findings reveal that the BIC exercised "super-state" powers to directly invest capital and secure controlling interests in major corporations such as SIPH, Michelin, and Terres Rouges. Furthermore, the bank established a sophisticated system of indirect monopoly by leveraging its currency issuance privileges, manipulating exchange rates, and imposing French administrative standards (intellectual colonization). The study demonstrates that the symbiosis between financial capital and colonial agriculture transformed rubber plantations into financial satellites, maximizing resource extraction and the exploitation of indigenous labor. The paper concludes that deconstructing these mechanisms is essential for identifying the nature of French financial colonialism in Vietnam.

Keywords: Bank of Indochina, Cochinchina Rubber, Rubber Conglomerates, Financial Colonialism, Intellectual Colonization.

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