Page:Twentieth Century Impressions of Hongkong, Shanghai, and other Treaty Ports of China.djvu/452

444 TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF HONGKONG, SHANGHAI, ETC. THE SHANGHAI PREMISES OF THE YOKOHAMA SPECIE BANK.

CHARTERED BANK OF INDIA, AUSTRALIA, AND CHINA.

The Chartered Bank of India, Australia, and China, which has its head ottices in London, and branches and agencies all over the world, was incorporated, under Royal Charter, in 1853. It has a paid-up capital of £1.200.000. and a reserve fund of ^1,475,000, while the reserve liability of the share- holders amounts to ;fi. 200.000. Every description of exchange and banking business is transacted, and drafts are granted upon any commercial centre of reasonable im- portance. The Shanghai branch of the bank was opened in 1857. the premises being situated, in the first instance, in Mackley Terrace. near Szechuen Road, immediately behind the Shanghai Club. The present offices on the Bund were purchased from the New Oriental Bank in 1892. The first manager in Shanghai was Mr. Kellar ; to-day the business is conducted under the supervision of Mr. Skottowe. who was born in the Isle of Man. and obtained general banking ex- perience with the City of Glasgow Bank in Douglas. He came to the East in 1882, and obtained his present position in 1891. Mr. Skottowe is a member of the Imperial Institute, and of all the local clubs. In his absence. Mr. George Miller assumes control of the bank's interests. The staff in Shang- hai, which is the headquarters lor China, numbers about forty. Agencies have been established in Hankow, Cheffio, Xcwchwang, and Tsingtau. DEUTSCH-ASIATISCHE BANK. This B.ink was established in P'ebruary, 1889, -by some of the leading! bankers and financiers of Germany, such as the Dis- conto - Gesellschaft ; the Deutsche Bank ; Bleichroder ; Rothschilds, &c. It has a capital of Tls. 7,500.000. in 7.500 shares of Tls. 1,000 each, and was founded primarily for the purpose of advancing the general interests of commerce between Germany and Asia, and also for the transaction of ordinary banking business. It buys and sells bills, stocks, and shares of all descriptions, keeps current accounts in taels and dollars, accepts fixed deposits, and does every description of exchange business. For the ytav ending December 31, 1906, the net profit made by the bank was Tls. 839,473, and dividends amounting to ii per cent, were paid. The headquiirters are at Shanghai, and there are branches at Berlin, Hamburg, Calcutta, Hongkong, Peking, Hankow, Singapore, Tsingtau, Tsinanfu, Yokohama, and Kobe. The premises of the Bank at Shanghai, Hankow, Tsingtau, Tsinanfu, Tientsin, Peking, and Yokohama are the bank's own property. The manager at Shanghai is Mr. H. Kigge, and the offices, of which a photograph is reproduced, form an imposing building in the very centre of the Bund.

IMPERIAL BANK OF CHINA.

The Imperial Hank of China, the headquarters of which are finely situated on the Bund, was established at Shanghai, by imperial decree, in 1897. It is a semi- official organisation conducted on entirely modern lines. The capital amounts to Tls. 5,000,000, half of which is paid up, and there are branches at Peking, Tientsin, and Hankow. The bank's business, of course, is chiefly with the Chinese. H. E. Sheng Kung Pao is the director-general, and the directors include Messrs. ShC-n Tun-ho, Wong Tsuen-shan, and Ku Jen-chang. Mr. H. C. Marshall is the acting chief manager, and Mr. Liah Lun Fun the native manager.

SHANGHAI LAND INVESTMENT COMPANY, LTD.

The Shanghai Land Investment Company, Ltd., was formed in 1888, and incorporated under the Companies' Ordinances of Hong- kong, with a capital of Tls. 1,000,000, in 20,000 shares of Tls. 50 each, for the purpose of carrying on the class of business ordinarily conducted by land in- vestment, land mortgage, and building estate companies. The assured and permanent nature of investments in property situated within a reasonable distance from great centres was pointed out in the pro spectus, and emphasis was laid upon the fact that the conditions required to bring an adequate return for money invested in this way existed in an exceptional degree in Shanghai, "the foremost for a long time among the Treaty ports of the East." No difficulty was experienced in raising enough money to float the enterprise successfully. Unlike most investment companies, this one began operations with the advantage of possessing properties by means of which it