York Lo: The Silver-Haired Midas: Kan Koam-Tsing, the Banker and Gold Dealer who backed South Sea Textile and Camelpaint Bankers played a critical role in the post-war industrial development of Hong Kong and one particular financier – Kan Koam-tsing (簡鑑清) stood out. Owner of a Chinese bank bearing his name and a major player in the lucrative gold trade, Kan […]
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York Lo: Once Upon A Time in Mongkok: Chow Ngai Hing Knitting Factory One of Chow Ngai Hing’s brands – the Horse trademark. In Mongkok, there are four streets which have names there are associated with garments – Yim Po Fong Street (染布房街, dyeing mill street), Hak Po Street (黒布街, black cloth street), Pak Po Street (白布街,white cloth street) and Sai […]
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York Lo: Wei Yit Vacuum Flask Manufactory and Camel brand In early April 2017, Apple Daily reported a resurgence of interest in the “Camel” brand of vacuum flasks in the local market thanks to its high quality and the interest in buying “Made in Hong Kong” products. (For those who can read Chinese, see links to below articles): http://hk.apple.nextmedia.com/news/art/20170304/19947161 http://hk.apple.nextmedia.com/news/art/20170304/19947163 http://hk.apple.nextmedia.com/news/art/20170304/19947173 […]
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York Lo: Other Notable Taxicab Companies in Hong Kong before 1967 Aside from the Big Four cab companies profiled in the “the Four Taxi Kings – Blue, Central, New and Star”, there were a number of other taxicab companies that were formed before 1967. These include HK & Kowloon Taxicab – the first taxicab firm in HK launched in […]
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York Lo: George Baker – an American Pioneer of the HK Electronics Industry Several years ago I wrote an article for this group about Peter HT Woo, the “Father of the HK Electronics Industry”, whose radio assembler Champagne Engineering (founded in 1958 and later renamed Atlas Electronics) is often credited as the first electronics company in Hong Kong. Another early […]
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York Lo: The Three Kings of Biscuits – M.Y. San, M.P. San and Pacific In the history of the biscuit and confectionery industry in Hong Kong, M.Y. San, M.P. San and Pacific Biscuit & Confectionery were three prominent firms which shared a common root – they were all started by members of a Filipino Chinese family hailed from Zhongshan (formerly […]
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York Lo: Foo Hang, Tai Hang, Lee Heng and B. Green– Four Leaders of the HK Diamonds Industry Left: Lo Fong Siu-po of Foo Hang (right) receiving a souvenir for her generous donations to establish the Lo Ka-chow Memorial Opthalmic from Sir Oswald Cheung while Max Ma of Lee Heng (center) as chairman of Tung Wah looked on. (WKYP, 1983-3-4) […]
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York Lo: In the 1950s and 1960s, Cosmos Aerated Water (大同汽水廠) was a major soft drinks manufacturer in Hong Kong. The Wong family, which founded and managed Cosmos in HK, was also the founder and owner of Cosmos Bottling, which was the first and second largest soft drink manufacturer in the Philippines. The Cosmos story began in 1918 when Wong […]
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York Lo: Union Ceramic Industries and Heart Brand Enamelware Left: Union Ceramic Industries’ ad from 1949 (China Mail 1949-5-26); Right: Union Ceramics’s factory (Source: Ta Kung Pao, 1956-1-1) During the heyday of the HK enamelware industry between the 1940s and 1960s, Union Ceramic Industries (一心搪瓷, hereafter referred to as UCI), the maker of Heart Brand enamelware, had the distinction of being […]
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York Lo: Lo’s Mee Kwong and Join-In Shirt Left: the name Lo’s Mee Kwong lives on in the LMK Development Estate in Kwai Chung; Centre: an advertisement from the early 1980s promoting the “colorful world” of Join-In Shirt; Right: Early 1980s picture of Join-In Estate (now Prosperity Centre) in Kwai Chung. From the late 1970s to early 1980s, Join-In Shirt (鍾意恤) […]
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