Finance and Financial Management Commons^™

Informal Banking And Early International Entrepreneurs: The Case Of The Chettiars, Jayarani Tan, Wee Liang Tan

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

As moneylenders during nineteenth century colonial period the Chettiars were functioned as informal bankers in Asia. They began as communal entrepreneurs in their clan but grew beyond their domestic borders. Despite their smallness and resources, they were able to internationalize. This paper reports a study into their internationalization examining the manner they were able to successfully venture abroad. We found that external factors like the British protectorate and internal factors like their unique socio-cultural institutions and norms and values served as enabling factors for their internationalization. These include a family culture of training the sons for the business, embracing business …