When Clan Meet Wars: The Transformation of Family Wealth in Hong Kong and Japan During World War II

The economic and business activities in Japanese-occupied Hong Kong (1941-1945) remained largely uncharted, particularly those of local Chinese companies. This paper draws on the company registration records compiled by the Japanese occupation authorities to examine the financing of Chinese businesses in Hong Kong in the first half of the twentieth century. It argues that these companies maintained close linkages with the Pearl River Delta through marriage and kinship networks. Furthermore, as many of these corporations were family holding companies that invested in land and shares, the paper compares the financing and organisational structures of these Chinese firms with that of Japanese family holding companies at the time. When the occupation began in December 1941, many zaibatsu-related Japanese companies started to open branches in Hong Kong, and many of them, like their Chinese counterparts, were financed by the family holding companies. In short, this paper explores how family wealth was transformed by wars, state direction, family and kinship networks, and also by the increasing demand for capital.