York Lo: King Kong: Kong Tak-yan (江德仁), tycoon in the 1950s-80s and the original developer of Lan Kwai Fong Left: IPO notice of Keng Fong Sin Kee in 1972; Right: Kong Tak-yan in 1974 (KSEN, 1974-3-24) While many credit Allan Zeman for turning Lan Kwai Fong into the entertainment hub it is today with the launch of his California Bar […]
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IDJ: Imperial Airways (Far East) Ltd Many people in Hong Kong have no concept of how airlines developed in the territory despite air services being their primary means of transport overseas. Airline services arrived late in Hong Kong relative to the rest of the world. Not until 1936, when the UK based Imperial Airways was slowly extending its routes from […]
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York Lo: The Kam Family of Hocan and Jardines For the past century, the Kam family has been important players in the import export industry in Hong Kong, starting with Kam Cheung-yan and his brother Kam Cheung-fai who were compradors for the major foreign owned trading houses such as Gerin Drevard and Jardines, and later as proprietors of their own […]
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York Lo: Easey Garment Factory (依時製衣廠) The founders of Easey Garments (Left to right): S.P. Tong (WKYP, 1972-12-10), Wu Yiu-kwan, Chan Lee-pak, Ursula Tong For the past half a century, Easey Garment has been one of the largest jean manufacturers in Hong Kong although the firm has been relatively low key despite having been a public company and owning prime […]
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The following article has been extracted from the Dictionary of Hong Kong Biography. The publisher HK University Press, has given permission for it to be posted here. The article about Ho A-mei was written by Elizabeth Sinn and first published in the Dictionary of Hong Kong Biography, edited by May Holdsworth and Christopher Munn. The publisher, HK University Press, has kindly granted […]
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David Bellis, Mike T, Hugh Farmer and Elizabeth Ride: In 19 Queries & Answers: Amakusa Marine Products Industrial Company, 1942, HF wrote, “By December 1942 around 18,000 Hong Kong Chinese fishermen were reported to be receiving instructions from the Amakusa Marine Products Industrial Company.” (Snow) I said I could find nothing out about this company which if the above is […]
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York Lo: Kwong Luen Tai Garment (廣聯泰) Left: Kwong Luen Tai Garment founder Lee Cheung; right: contract signing ceremony between the Enping local government and Kwong Luen Tai for the establishment of the JV between the two in the early 1980s Kwong Luen Tai Garment Factory was one of the largest garment manufacturers in Hong Kong and was briefly mentioned […]
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For latest updates please see items highlighted in blue. HF: We have been sent information about a couple of employees of the Asiatic Petroleum Company in China and one in the UK. We have also received requests for information about two more employees. I thought it might be more useful if I gathered this information in one article, not least […]
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York Lo: The Ho brothers and Jan Sin Mee and Standard/Shui Hing From the 1960s to 1980s, the Ho brothers – William Ho Sau-pang (何壽彭), Shau-Hong Ho (何壽康,1923-1996) and Stanley Ho Sau-nan (何壽南) were major players in the HK garment industry as William and Shau-hong were the founders of the Jan Sin Mee Group, one of the largest garment manufacturers […]
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HF: Yates and Thom, (formerly W and J Yates), 9 Canal Ironworks, Blackburn, UK, were makers of engines for mills, collieries and waterworks. And the original engine for the Peak Tram which was opened for public service on 28 May 1888. Construction had begun іn September 1885. Initially a static steam engine was used to power the haulage cable “built […]
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