York Lo: King of Entertainment: Wong Kow (黃球) and his Mayflower (五月花) group of restaurants and nightclubs Left: Wong Kow; Right: Matchbox for the Mayflower Restaurant group in the 1960s which list the phone numbers for all four of its restaurants and Oriental Ballroom. Wong Kow (1921-2017) was a major figure in the HK restaurant and entertainment industry in the […]
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York Lo: International Restaurant & Nightclub Holdings (國際酒樓夜總會置業 Earlier in the group, we have covered Ruby and Oceania Hawaii, two publicly listed restaurant groups from the 1970s and 1980s which had since faded into history. Another major listed restaurant group from the same era was International Restaurant & Nightclub Holdings (hereafter referred to as “IRN Holdings” to differentiate it from […]
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York Lo: Dickson and Hopson: the Tales of Two Handbag Companies Dickson and Hopson are two players in the handbag business in Central with similar sounding names and over half a century of history but catering to two different segments – the earlier focused on the higher end clientele while the latter caters to the mass market with its own […]
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York Lo: Yau Yue Commercial Bank (有餘商業銀行) Leaders of Yau Yue Commercial Bank at its opening ceremony in 1953 (WKYP, 1953-10-23) Founded in 1953, taken over by HSBC in 1966 and closed in 1969, Yau Yue Commercial Bank was one of the less covered Chinese-owned banks in the post-War era thanks to its smaller size and short history and the […]
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York Lo: Lee Hung-tong (李漢忠): Thai Chinese Trader, HK Industrialist and Singer Trade between HK and Thailand had existed since the beginning of the colony and in fact the first trading firm in Nam Pak Hong was Yuen Fat Hong which was engaged in the Siam trade and firms that specialized in trading with Thailand are known as “Siam guilds” […]
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York Lo: The Ma Family and Thomson Weaving Factory (天孫織染廠) Founded in 1946 by Shunde native Ma Tze-sau (馬子修, 1900-1954), Thomson Weaving Factory was one of the leading weaving and dyeing mills in Hong Kong in the 1940s and 1950s known for its “Double Dragon” fabric. Outside of Thomson, Ma’s children were involved in other industrial activities such as kaolin […]
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York Lo: C.F. Leung, Ng Iu-cheung and L.S. Chang – Directors of Kwong On Bank Before its acquisition by DBS Bank in 1999, Kwong On Bank (廣安銀行) was one of the leading Chinese-owned banks in Hong Kong. Founded in 1935 by Leung Kwai-yee and primarily led by his sons, Kwong On had other significant shareholders such as the trader William […]
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York Lo: Filmo Depot (菲林模影機) Left: Filmo Depot’s ad for Filmo 8 in 1939 (China Journal, December 1939); Center: article announcing the re-opening of Filmo Depot after the War in 1947 (HK Sunday Herald, 1947-9-21) Right: Filmo Depot’s ad for its Corrascope films in 1960 (Pacific Island Monthly, May 1960) From the 1930s to the 1970s, Filmo Depot was one […]
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York Lo: Pak Wo Cheung (百和祥) and Secure Industries (保美實業) Chan Ho-sang and friends visiting the ROC consulate general in Honolulu during the Hawaiian trip. Left to right: Mr & Mrs. Wong Kam-fun (黃錦芬), consul general Hu Si-fan (胡世勳), Wong Sik-pun (黃錫彬, the Chan family’s business partner in Asia Motor), Chan Ho-sang, their tour guide Tso Hak-on (曹克安,brother of Tso […]
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York Lo: Wo Kee Cheung (和記祥) and Wo Fung Cheung (和豐祥) Left: Ad for Wo Kee Cheung in 1964 (WKYP, 1964-1-3); right: Thank you ad by Wo Fung Cheung to guests attending the opening of its Tai Po Road branch in 1964 (WKYP, 1964-4-5) In the early 1960s, Canton Trust & Commercial Bank (廣東信託商業銀行) was one of the most aggressive […]
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