 By the end of the 19th century, George Town also evolved into a leading financial centre of British Malaya, as mercantile firms and international banks, including Standard Chartered and HSBC, flocked into the city.By then, Penang became home to a myriad of ethnicities and religious affinities.Aside from the sizeable Chinese, Malay, Indian, Peranakan, Eurasian and Siamese communities, the colony's multi-ethnic and multi-religious society included significant minorities of Burmese, British, Javanese, Japanese, Sinhalese, Jewish, German and Armenian origin.