This Company Launched The World's First IPO More Than 400 Years Ago!

From LIC, Reliance, Google to Facebook, you must have heard about many big IPOs in the history of the stock market.

But do you know which company launched the world's first ever IPO? And when did it happen? Maybe 50 or 100 years ago? Well, no. Get ready to be surprised by the actual answer- it happened more than 400 years ago!

The World's First Ever IPO Was Launched In 1602

The Dutch East India Company (often referred to as VOC due to its Dutch name ‘Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie’), had held its IPO more than 400 years ago, in August 1602. It was the first of its kind in world history and therefore a key event in the financial history of the entire world. In fact, the launch of the world's first ever IPO also gave birth to the world’s first stock exchange (Amsterdam Stock Exchange) after the company’s shareholders started to actively trade the Dutch East India Company‘s shares.

The IPO had been announced in the VOC charter, the company’s founding document of March 20, 1602. "All the residents of these lands," stated article 10, "may buy shares in this company." Subscribers could decide for themselves how much to invest, and there was no minimum or maximum amount set for investing in the IPO. 

While it's true that there had been companies before the VOC that had issued shares—the so-called ‘pre-companies’ that merged into the VOC in 1602 had private shareholders, what had set the VOC apart from these earlier companies was the public character of the share issue. Every Dutchman was invited to invest. This was a big difference from the previous companies, which had raised their capital from a small circle of private investors only.

Where Was The IPO Conducted?

As the company did not yet have its own offices, investors in the Amsterdam branch were invited to come to the private house of the wealthy merchant Dirck van Os, co-founder of the VOC, to invest money in the company’s initial capital in the IPO process. During the month of August 1602, Van Os and the other directors took turns overseeing the bookkeeper as he entered investors in the register.

Given that the founding directors of the VOC were well-known merchants, this likely contributed to investors’ willingness to put in money. 

The Lock-In Period Was 21 Years

The company’s first charter was granted for 21 years. But it was eventually realised that this long horizon of two decades might deter some interested individuals from investing their money, so it was decided to include a provision for the interim liquidation of the VOC. So, after ten years—in 1612—a "general balance" was decided to be drawn up. In other words, the company would disclose how it was doing, and shareholders would have the option of asking for their money back.

Also Read: How The Wall Street Crash Of 1929 Triggered World War II

More Than 1,000 Investors For The IPO

By the time the IPO was closed on August 31, 1602, more than 1,000 investors (1,143 to be exact) had subscribed to the initial capital of the Dutch East India Company’s Amsterdam branch. 

There were six semi-independent branches of the VOC, and each held its own IPO. Of the total amount raised in August 1602—almost 6.5 million guilders (replaced by Euro as the currency in 2008)—Amsterdam provided 57% of the total capital, followed by Middelburg with 20%, and the remaining four chambers with considerably lesser contributions to the total.

World’s 10 Oldest Stock Exchanges

While we did mention that the world’s first IPO gave birth to the world’s first stock exchange as well, let us bring to you the list of the 10 oldest stock exchanges in the world, which includes an Indian one, too!

1. Amsterdam Stock Exchange: Established in 1602

2. Paris Stock Exchange: Established in 1724

3. Philadelphia Stock Exchange: Established in 1790

4. New York Stock Exchange: Established in 1792

5. London Stock Exchange: Established in 1801

6. Milan Stock Exchange: Established in 1808

7. Frankfurt Stock Exchange: Established in 1808

8. Madrid Stock Exchange: Established in 1831

9. Toronto Stock Exchange: Established in 1861

10. Bombay Stock Exchange: Established in 1875

References:

1. Worldsfirststockexchnage, accessed from: https://www.worldsfirststockexchange.com/2020/10/15/the-worlds-first-ipo/

2. Euro News, accessed from: https://www.euronews.com/business/2025/04/13/how-a-dutch-trading-company-started-the-worlds-first-stock-exchange

3. Investor Amnesia, accessed from: https://investoramnesia.com/timeline/first-ipo-the-dutch-east-india-company-voc/

4. Investopedia, accessed from: https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/08/first-company-issue-stock-dutch-east-india.asp

5. Oldest.org,  accessed from: https://www.oldest.org/technology/stock-exchanges/
6. Xe.com, accessed from: https://www.xe.com/currency/eur-euro/

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