Investing in China Back Then – The Tientsin-Pukow Railway

Interestingly a while back the Chinese government went on a roadshow to try and raise funds internationally to upgrade its rail network. They didn’t do very well but don’t care that much as they’re loaded and doing it themselves anyway. Of course foreign investment in Chinese railways is nothing new. Here’s a 1938 scrip certificate for a loan on the Tientsin-Pukow Railway for loans of 1908 and 1910. The line got into a bit of a mess financially with concerns in the British Parliament about how the Chinese government was going to repay their loan (see Hansard debates on the whole thing here). Anyway here’s the certificate front and back (just for those who like to read the small print).