Economic Influence of Chinese Communities in Southeast Asia

Migrant communities, particularly the overseas Chinese have long held significant influence over economic

activity in Southeast Asia countries. Despite repeated government efforts to reduce their

dominance in the domestic economy, ethnic Chinese communities continue to play a major economic

role and have also contributed substantially to national economic growth. In Thailand,

the Thai-Chinese forced the withdrawal of European firms, especially banking and then proceeded

on to set their own banks up with the example of Chin Sophonpanich who founded Bangkok

Bank and set up systems of currency exchange. In the 1950s, they collected savings

from farmers and traders through branch networks and used the funds to invest in new