From its establishment to the year 1928, HSBC provided the Qing court and Beiyang with 82 loans, totaling 350 million taels of silver. After 1911, HSBC obtained the rights to the revenue of Eastern Customs and the salt tax, becoming a Foreign Bank that controlled the financial lifeline of the East.
There are no such things as love and hate without reason in the world. To obtain such benefits, one must pay the corresponding price.
In 1874, when the Qing court was constructing defense works in Taiwan, only HSBC was willing to lend money without fearing to offend the Japanese Government Offices, demanding an annual interest of 15% on the "Taiwan Defence Loan," whereas openly issued bonds on the market had an average annual interest of just 8%.
For Qing court endeavors such as the construction of the Songhu Railway, Zuo Zongtang's Western Conquest, the First Sino-Japanese War, and so on, it was HSBC that provided the loans, eventually becoming the Qing court's largest creditor.
