History

These trade leaders eventually formed the Indian Chamber of Commerce, Penang sometimes in the early 1920’s (circa 1924) and continued to function until the outbreak of the Second World War. It is very unfortunate that all the pre-war records were destroyed during the Japanese Occupation and the Chamber was inactive for a short period of time. During this period of reconstruction, the Chamber played a very important role in helping its members to get supplies of provisions and textiles, all of which were disrupted during the Japanese Occupation.

From 1946 until the mid-1960, most of the members were very active in the entrepot trade especially with the neighboring country Indonesia. In fact, a major portion of Penang’s entrepot trade with neighboring countries was then handled by our members. However, due to the loss of the Free Port Status of Penang, the trade in the State of Penang diminished and many of the members were compelled to diversify into other fields such as retail, service, local distribution, etc. with some also venturing into the manufacturing industry.In 1962, the Chamber bought a piece of land in Penang Street and a 4-storey building was constructed in 1963. The opening ceremony of the Chamber Building was done by His Excellency Raja Tun Uda Al-haj bin Raja Muhammed SMN, on 13th January 1964.