The Dutch East India Company, officially the United East India Company (Dutch: Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie; VOC), was a megacorporation founded by a government-directed amalgamation of several rival Dutch trading companies (voorcompagnieën) in the early 17th century.
It was established on 20 March 1602, as a chartered company to trade with Mughal India during the period of proto-industrialization, from which 50% of textiles and 80% of silks were imported, chiefly from its most developed region known as Bengal Subah.
The company was a transcontinental employer and a corporate pioneer of outward foreign direct investment at the dawn of modern capitalism.
In the early 1600s, by widely issuing bonds and shares of stock to the general public, VOC became the world's first formally listed public company.
According to en.wikipedia
