were fourteen rice exporting companies owned by the Hoa competing with ten European import-export businesses. The Grain Merchants Association with its headquarters in Cholon had direct contracts with rice markets in Taiwan, British Hong Kong, Meiji Japan, Thailand, and British Malaya. Seeing the vast opportunities for profitability that could be exploited from Chợ Lớn's rice trade, Hoa rice merchants began to compete with American and European businessmen vying for business primacy by capturing a potentially significant share in Vietnam's rice trading market. As Hoa rice merchants wanted a piece of Vietnam's rice trade for themselves, they began to establish their own rice trading networks between 1878 to 1886 across South Vietnam with financial backing coming from Overseas Chinese investors in Malacca, Penang, Singapore, and Hong Kong. Though the Hoa rice merchants were pitted in direct competition against their American and European counterparts, the Hoa controlled seven of the nine rice mills built in Chợ Lớn between 1905 to 1914. From 1905 to 1918, the Hoa controlled 36 out of the 41 total rice mills in Chợ Lớn. With Chợ Lớn being the center of Vietnam's economic heartland during the 19th and 20th centuries, Chợ Lớn in the contemporary era today continues to remain and serve as one of contemporary Vietnam's most leading economic nerve centers for the Hoa business community. With the strong presence of the Hoa in Vietnam's economic life during the early part of the twentieth century, the Hoa emerged as a prosperous economic minority and established themselves as successful entrepreneurs and investors that made them practically inseparable from the Vietnamese economy. In the fishing sector, the Hoa maintained a strong foothold, particularly in deep-sea fishing. Stiff competition and high rates of attrition between the Hoa fishermen displaced their indigenous Kinh counterparts away from the local fish export trade. As a result of cutthroat competition between the Hoa fishermen, even the production of Nuac Mann, a popular Vietnamese fish sauce ended up being monopolized by them. The Chinese also owned sugar refineries, construction equipment, and industrial machinery manufacturing establishments as well as operated their own rice and sawmills. Other Hoa entrepreneurs participated in the textile, cotton, sugar, condiment, silk, cinnamon bark, cardamom, and tea trade. Many Hoa also delved into coconut and peanut oil production and began their humble business careers as lowly menial laborers on French rubber plantations and eventually worked their way up to start their