The Banque Industrielle de Chine, or Industrial Bank of China, was chartered in 1913 and was closed in 1922. The bank’s Chinese office was in Shanghai and its European office in Paris. Its chief director was A.J. Pernotte. In the beginning of the 1920s riots in China stopped payments of the Chinese borrowers. French investors complained, and André Berthelot, one of the administrators of the bank, asked […]
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Ralph Wood has kindly allowed me to post the following biography by him of George Underhill Sands, who was Ralph’s great grand uncle. Ralph has been unable to find an image of Sands and I would be very grateful if someone could provide one. HF: We already have some information about Sands which can be found in the articles linked […]
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Tymon Mellor: In 1955 mineral prices were on the rise and there was a large influx of new population into Hong Kong, mineral extraction and mine development was a growth industry. Sensational mining stories and corruption were not uncommon. In April, 1955 an amateur geologist, Corporal William Bruce Harries, of the Royal Army Educational Corps discovered a deposit of Beryl […]
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York Lo: Kiu Fung Investment (僑豐建業) and the Trio behind the Firm 1962 ad for Kiu Fung Investment covering 4 of its properties – Kiu Fung Mansion, Kiu Kin Mansion, Hing Wong Mansion and Hong Kiu Mansion When it comes to partnerships in the HK real estate industry, the first name which came to most people’s mind is probably Sun Hung […]
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Rope-Making Twine, halliards, cables – if what you need can be classified under the general heading of ‘rope’, it is almost certainly made in Hong Kong. One of the Colony’s earliest industries was ship-building from which a natural offshoot was rope-making. In 1883 Hong Kong’s first rope-making was opened with a capital of HK$150,000.[HF: this was The Hongkong Rope Manufacturing […]
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Hugh Farmer: Researching my recent Quarrying in Hong Hong article brought up lots of place names with quarrying associations. And even more questions. Can you help answer any? A Kung Ngam Quarry: “A Kung literally means maternal grandfather or old man in Cantonese while Ngam means rock, but in the case of this place name, “A Kung” refers to Tam Kung, sea god, who the […]
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James Chan: Hong Kong United Dockyards often abbreviated to United Dockyards or HUD was formed from the merger of the Hong Kong and Whampoa Dock (founded 1863) and Taikoo Dockyard (1902). The Whampoa Dock was located in Hung Hom, West Kowloon and Taikoo Dockyard in Quarry Bay, Hong Kong Island. In 1973 in part to meet the container revolution in […]
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HF: G Falconer appear to have had a presence in Hong Kong since 1885, according to the company website, and currently have a shop in the Peninsula Hotel. This article provides initial information about the Falconer and two British companies it was the Hong Kong agent for. As the above says: G Falconer & Company (Hong Kong Limited, Watchmakers, […]
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James Chan: I found this while looking through the Public Records Office images. I don’t think we have anything about this company. A quick check finds that it was started in 1950 and is now (as HAECO) one of the world’s largest maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) service providers in terms of capacity. It is owned by Swire Pacific Ltd. […]
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York Lo: Rainbow Latex and Seven Sea Chemicals Rainbow and Seven Sea are two key firms in the history of the latex industry in Hong Kong started by two branches of the Wu family from Shanghai. Starting out as a squatter factory, the firms survived multiple fires over the years and family disputes and became the first and leading manufacturer […]
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