{"product_id":"the-hongkong-bank-in-singapore","title":"The Hongkong Bank In Singapore","description":"\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eSingapore, December 1877. The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking\nCorporation opens for business in a city where reliable currency is scarce,\nsilver is steadily losing value against sterling, and much of commerce rests on\ntrust and reputation.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eThis book traces the branch’s first 25 years: its day-to-day\nwork financing trade and managing exchange, its pursuit of the right to issue\nbank notes, and the occasional crises, from a banknote forgery to the theft of\n$272,000 from the bank’s vault.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eFor author R.E. Hale, the story lies in the people. Nine\nmanagers passed through in this period, each navigating a different combination\nof market conditions and head office expectations, with varying degrees of\nsuccess. Working alongside the British staff were the longserving Eurasian\nclerks, and the Compradore’s department, which managed cash and mediated\nrelationships with local Chinese merchants. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eBeyond the bank, the Chettiar money-lenders were\nindispensable to local credit, and their promissory notes proved a recurring\nand costly temptation to the branch. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eDrawing on bank archives and the contemporary Singapore\npress, this is a detailed account of how a single branch functioned within the\nstructures of colonial trade – and of the working lives that sustained it.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"PANSING DISTRIBUTION PTE LTD","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45673933078735,"sku":"9789815378641","price":34.88,"currency_code":"SGD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0574\/5662\/3823\/files\/download_50071e62-181b-4b3c-915c-c647d949d11d.jpg?v=1785718974","url":"https:\/\/popular.baby\/products\/the-hongkong-bank-in-singapore","provider":"Popular Book Company Pte Ltd","version":"1.0","type":"link"}