Before the 1860s, Chinese capital consisted mainly of small businesses. Thereafter, Chinese import-export traders in Singapore successfully linked up with Chinese merchants in other parts of Southeast Asia – Java, Sumatra, Burma, Siam, and Vietnam etc., as well as with the Southern ports of mainland China. In the late 19th century, some Chinese in Singapore also profited from investing in booming industries such as pineapple and rubber processing. In the early 20th century, a few Chinese merchants started to invest in “modern” banking.Benefitting from several advantages such as its strategic location, Singapore soon became one of the major centers of Chinese capital and the financial center of Southeast Asia. The banking industry flourished as with the various trades and businesses of the Chinese merchants.These remittance drafts can therefore demonstrate the above-mentioned, especially with its regional diversity. Besides being illuminative objects to narrate the history of Chinese economic pioneers and the banking industry, these artefacts also provide insights to the Chinese immigrant history, especially during 1930s-1950s.
