Bombay Burmah Trading Corporation

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The Bombay Burmah Trading Corporation Limited
TypePublic
ISININE050A01025
PredecessorWallace Bros & Co.
Founded1863; 160 years ago (1863)[1]
FoundersWallace brothers
HeadquartersWallace Street, Fort,
Mumbai, Maharashtra
,
India[2]
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Nusli N. Wadia (Chairman)[3]
RevenueDecrease ₹247.25 crore (US$31 million) (FY18)
Decrease ₹−25.83 crore (US$−3.2 million)[4] (FY18)
OwnerWadia Group (65.93%)[5]
Websitebbtcl.com

The Bombay Burmah Trading Corporation Limited (BBTC) is an Indian trading company based in Mumbai which is owned by the Wadia Group. It was formed in 1863 by the Wallace Brothers of Scotland. It is India's oldest publicly traded company,[6] and was established to engage in the Burmese tea business through the initial step of taking over the Burmese assets of William Wallace.

The company's founding occurred when the six Wallace Brothers, originally members of a Scottish merchant house in Edinburgh, first arrived in Bombay (now Mumbai) in the 1840s. A Bombay partnership was formed in 1848 as "Wallace Bros & Co". In the mid-1850s the Wallaces set up a business in Rangoon, shipping tea to Bombay. In 1863 the business was floated as "The Bombay Burmah Trading Corporation". Its equity was held by both Indian merchants along with the Wallace Brothers, who had the controlling interests. By the 1870s the company was a leading producer of teak in Burma and Siam, as well as having interests in cotton, oil exploration and shipping.

British motivations for the third Anglo-Burmese War were partly influenced by concerns of the BBTC. The Burmese state's conflict with the BBTC furnished British leaders with a pretext for conquest.[7]: 224–225  By the 1880s Wallace Brothers had become a leading financial house in London. This firm was able to affect the intelligence about Burma and, more critically, about the growing French influence in the country.[7]: 227 

The Vissanji family purchased the company from the Wallace brothers around the time of Indian independence. In 1992, the BBTC acquired and merged in BCL Springs. Later, BBTC was acquired by the Wadia group based in Bombay.[8]

See also[edit]

Further reading[edit]

  • Arnold Cecil Pointon, Bombay Burmah Trading Corporation 1863-1963 (Southampton: The Millbrook Press. 1964) 142 pp. OCLC 752648475
  • RH Macaulay, History of Bombay Burmah Trading Corporation 1864 -1910 (London, 1934).
  • Anthony Webster, Gentlemen Capitalists: British Imperialism in South East Asia 1770-1890. (London: Tauris Academic Studies. 1998)
  • Candier, Aurore (2000). "De la collaboration coloniale : fortune des missions catholiques françaises en Birmanie, 1856-1918". Outre-Mers. Revue d'histoire. 87 (326): 177–203. doi:10.3406/outre.2000.3775. Retrieved 5 August 2020.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Company Profile". The Bombay Burmah Trading Corporation, Limited. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  2. ^ "Our Locations". The Bombay Burmah Trading Corporation, Limited. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  3. ^ "List of Directors". The Bombay Burmah Trading Corporation, Limited. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  4. ^ "Annual Report" (PDF). The Bombay Burmah Trading Corporation, Limited. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  5. ^ "Shareholding" (PDF). The Bombay Burmah Trading Corporation, Limited. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  6. ^ Mudgill, Amit. "Old isn't gold always! These 19th century firms failed to reward investors in last 5 years". The Economic Times. Retrieved 19 September 2022.
  7. ^ a b Anthony Webster (15 September 1998), Gentleman Capitalists: British Imperialism in Southeast Asia 1770-1890, I.B.Tauris, ISBN 978-1-86064-171-8
  8. ^ Verghese, Luke. "Bombay Burmah: A sprawling conglomerate". www.equitymaster.com/. Retrieved 8 February 2017.


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