The Huaxing Commercial Bank or Huaxing Bank, sometimes transliterated Hua-Hsing, was a central bank of the Japan-supported Reformed Government of the Republic of China that governed the Jiangnan region of China during early years of the Second Sino-Japanese War. It started operations in Shanghai in May 1938, was reorganized as a mere commercial bank following the creation of the Central Reserve Bank in January 1941, and stopped operating in August 1945.
It was thus one of the "puppet" banks of issue established by the Japanese occupation forces, together with the Central Bank of Manchou (1932-1945), Mengjiang Bank (1937-1945), United Reserve Bank (1938-1945), and Central Reserve Bank (1941-1945).[1]
Overview
Huaxing Commercial Bank was established on 1938-5-1 with initial capital of 50 million yuan. The Reformed Government subscribed for half,[2] while the other half came from the Industrial Bank of Japan, Bank of Taiwan, Bank of Chōsen, Mitsubishi Bank, Sumitomo Bank, and Mitsui Bank. Liang Hongzhi was appointed as the bank's President, and Washio Isoichi as Vice President.[2] It opened on 1938-5-16 in the Hongkou district of Shanghai.[3] On 1938-5-26, the bank established a branch in Nanjing at No. 233 Zhuque Road, the former location of Shanghai Commercial and Savings Bank. As with other puppet banks, the bank's staff was mostly Chinese, but most executives, consultants, advisors, and foreign exchange managers were Japanese.
See also
- Chinese National Currency
- Japanese military currency (1937–1945)
- Chinese hyperinflation
References
- Michell Li. Inflation in Eastern China during the Second Sino-Japanese War Johns Hopkins Institute for Applied Economics, Global Health, and Study of Business Enterprise, May 2018^
- Erwin Beyer. Die Huaxing Commercial Bank Geldscheine-Online, 2020-10-7^
- Rude Confucius - the Sabotage of Japanese Puppet Currency