When Indian businessmen set up industries in the late 19 th century they avoided competing with Manchester goods in the Indian market.Since yarn was not an important part of British imports into India, the early cotton mills of India produced coarse cotton yarn (thread) rather than fabric. Imported yarn was of the finest quality. The yarn produced in Indian spinning mills was used by handloom weavers or exported to China. Dwarkanath Tagore set up six joint stock companies in 1830s and 1840s. In Bombay Parsis like Dinshaw Petit and Nusserwanjee Tata accumulated their wealth through exports to China. Some merchants traded with Burma while others had links with Middle East and East Africa. Some operated in India itself and when opportunities of investment in industries opened up, set up factories.