- 著者
-
長沢 康昭
- 出版者
- 経営史学会
- 雑誌
- 経営史学 (ISSN:03869113)
- 巻号頁・発行日
- vol.23, no.1, pp.28-51, 1988-04-30 (Released:2009-11-06)
During World War I, Mitsubishi Goshi opened branches in Europe and America for the company's overseas activities. In this paper, I have analysed the motives, activities and the results of such development by focusing on the London Branch in England.Before the war, the company had its foreign branches only in China, and most of the overseas activities had been conducted through foreign commercial houses. When the war occurred, the company felt it difficult to export to Europe, so the company switched its export trade from Europe to Russia via Vladivostok. But again, as Russia suspended gold standard, the company faced another difficulty to take foreign exchange risk. Since the company had to import goods such as machinery or raw materials, it was indispensable to promote export for acquiring a steady supply of foreign currency. In order to meet such needs, the company opened its branch office in London 1915 and New York the next year.The London Branch sold the company-made non-ferrous metal such as copper or Chinese products, and purchased machineries and materials for the company's shipyard. The accounts for these transactions were settled by the foreign exchange in the firm. The purchasing was soon exceeded by selling, so a trade surplus was accumulated in the branch office. With the purpose of making use of these surplus funds, the company went into the common exchange business. On the other hand, Japan was enjoying a war boom, and the Trading Division of Mitsubishi Goshi decided to add other company products to its own line; thus the company turned to a general trading enterprise. With corresponding to such a transformation, the company decided to enlarge the scope of overseas activities, resulting in the opening of agent offices in such cities as Paris, Seattle, Berlin, Rome, Lyon and Marseilles.These activities of the foreign branches became a precondition for further growth of the foreign exchange business of the Bank Division as well as of the proper business of the Trading Division of Mitsubishi Goshi. Later the foreign exchange business of these branches was transferred to Foreign Exchange Division of Mitsubishi Bank, and their trading business was to Mitsubishi Shoji (Trading) Company.