Page:Twentieth Century Impressions of Hongkong, Shanghai, and other Treaty Ports of China.djvu/128

120 THE BANK OF TAIWAN, LTD.

century, extended its operations to Hongkong in February, 1906, taking offices in Queen's Buildings. The bank was established at Amsterdam in 1824, and has a capital of £3,750,000 with a reserve fund of £417,000. The head office in the East is at Batavia, but a large business in the Far East is transacted through the Singapore office. In its early days the Society was more interested in trading than in banking, but at the present time it is concerned only with banking and exchange business. The manager at Hongkong is Mr. J. L. Van Houten, who served with the bank for several years in the Straits Settlements and Sumatra.



NEDERLANDSCH-INDISCHE HANDELSBANK.—This financial house—the Netherlands-lndia Commercial Bank—which has its head office in Amsterdam and its chief agency in Batavia, was established in 1863 with an authorised capital of £1,250,000 (£1,040,000 paid up). Since its formation it has been largely concerned in the sugar industry of the Dutch colonies, especially in Java. It owns eight large plantations with factories, and finances about fifteen others. The eight plantations and factories referred to are operated by the Nederlandsch-Indische Landbouw-Maatschappij—Netherlands-India Agricultural Company-the whole of the shares in which are held by the bank. During recent years the sugar trade of Java with Japan and China has been very large, and with the object primarily of facilitating business the bank extended its operations to Hongkong and established a branch at 16, Des Voeux Road, Central, on November 1, 1906. Mr. J. Boetje, who has been for ten years in the bank's service, is the manager at Hongkong.



THE BANK OF TAIWAN, LTD.—Any account of the financial institutions of the Colony would be incomplete without some reference to the Bank of Taiwan, Ltd., a large and influential house with its headquarters at Taipeh, Formosa, and branches and agencies at Amoy, Swatow, Newchwang, Darien, Foochow, Keelung, Kobe, Osaka, Tokio, Yokohama, Moji, Nagasaki, London, New York, San Francisco, Shanghai, Taichu, Tainan, Takow, Tamsui, &c., established some eight years ago, it is the Government bank in Formosa, and is incorporated by special imperial charter. Two years after its foundation it extended its operations to Hongkong, and the business carried on under its auspices has increased steadily month by month, until now it holds a prominent place in the commercial life of the Colony. The capital amounts to Y5,000,000, of which Y3,750,000 is paid up, and there are reserve funds amounting to Y830,000. The statement of accounts published in June, 1907, showed a net profit for the half-year of Y299,450. Mr. Kazuyoshi Yagiu is the president, Mr. Totaro Shimosaka, is the vice-president, and Messrs. Muneyoshi Tatsuno and Isotatsu Kajiwara, are the directors of the Company. The Hongkong offices are in Princes Buildings, and the branch is managed by Mr. D. Tohdow, who has been in the service of the bank since its formation. He has the assistance of an excellent general staff and a Chinese compradore.