<P> The East India Company ( EIC ) , also known as the Honourable East India Company ( HEIC ) or the British East India Company and informally as John Company , was an English and later British joint - stock company . It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region , initially with Mughal India and the East Indies ( Maritime Southeast Asia ) , and later with Qing China . The company ended up seizing control over large parts of the Indian subcontinent , colonized parts of Southeast Asia , and colonized Hong Kong after a war with Qing China . </P>
what was the main aim of east india company
to trade in the Indian Ocean region