The rise of HSBC
Formed in 1865 in HK ? the first local bank with operations in HK and Shanghai ? that is
Why its name
1842 - Nanjing Treaty, the ceding of HK to UK
1860 ? Second Opium War ? the ceding of Kowloon to UK
First boss of HSBC was Thomas Sutherland, 1834-1922
In 1864, he was only 30 years old
He went from HK to Shantou in 1864 and read about the Blackwood’s Magazines ? they talked a lot about the banking business
He was in the trading business, had only one account with his buying agent, and not even an account with a bank
The idea of setting up a bank in HK came to his mind
Several months later, when he met the captain of S.S. “Ottawa”, he was told a very important piece of information
Some merchants in Bombay want to set up a bank in HK called “China Royal Bank”.
They have raised 2/3 to ¾ of equity capital, and will send a special envoy to HK to raise the balance equity funding from local companies
That night, Thomas Sutherland wrote a business plan to set up a bank in HK
He believed that if the Indian merchants had such a plan, he should act quickly to do so ahead of them
In HK there are enough insurance companies and trading houses that would support his proposal
The business plan he wrote was still kept by HSBC today
In that proposal he suggested to raise equity capital of HKD5,000,000
He gave the plan to a lawyer for review the next day
The lawyer was very enthusiastic because he saw the opportunity to earn commission of HKD10,000
The lawyer sold his plan to all major companies in HK (except Jardine) and asked them to be members of a preparatory committee
With the help of his lawyer friend, ...