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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HF: Stephen Davies’ article, Ulderup and Schlüter Shipyard, Sham Shui Po c1900-1914, mentions that the shipyard became the local agents for the Swedish Bolinder marine diesels (Bolinder Rohölmotoren – strictly semi-diesels) – two strokes that for the first two decades of the 20th century were probably the world’s most common small marine diesels although most of their early output seems to have […]
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York Lo: The Tsang Family of Sui Heong Yuen (瑞香園) Founded by Tsang Yuet-chee (曾月池, also known as T.Y. Chee) in the early 20th century, Sui Heong Yuen is one of the oldest Chinese business groups in HK with interests in trading, godowns, logistics, financial services and property development. At the 100th anniversary celebration of the HK General Chamber of […]
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York Lo: Oceania Hawaii Holdings (夏香集團) Left: matchbox from the Oceania Restaurant & Nightclub; Right: Chinese performance at the Oceania Restaurant & Nightclub from a 1970s postcard. Earlier in the group, we have covered Ruby Restaurant, which was one of the first restaurant groups to go public in HK in late 1972. Around the same time Ruby went public, another […]
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For latest updates please see items highlighted in blue. On 19th November 2020 information about William Elias Hughes, and images of him and his family were added. 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 […]
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New information, posted 19th November 2020. Brian Hughes has been in touch about his father: My father William Elias Hughes from the Conway Valley in North Wales was employed by APC (North) up to the War in Shanghai following his sailing from London on the ‘Nyanza’ on 28/06/1913. I believe he first worked in Customs. My mother followed, having met […]
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York Lo: Mak and Mark: the century-old tales of two Nam Pak Hong families with the same surname In the early 20th century, Mak Kwong and Adolfo Mark were leading merchants in the Chinese medicine business in the traditional Chinese business district of Nam Pak Hong with global network of buyers and suppliers. Their Mak Kwong Kee and Yick Wo […]
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Our article about Harry Long working for the Kung Lee Steam Ship Company mentioned that “he was a superintendent and engineer on boats taking cargo upriver from Canton. It was a dangerous job and he often had to use firearms to fend off pirates.” This prompted Stephen Davies to recall an incident near Samsui (aka Samshui) where the HK, Canton & […]
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HF: Can anyone supply information about the period when these toys were made in Hong Kong? “In 1893 William Britain Jr., a British toy manufacturer, invented the process of hollow casting in lead, and revolutionized the production of toy soldiers. The company quickly became the industry leader, and was imitated by many other companies, such as Hanks Bros. and John Hill […]
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York Lo: Sau Tao and Chewy – Noodle Giants Aside from “Doll” noodle covered earlier in the group, two of the leading local manufacturers of instant noodles are Sun Shun Fuk, maker of “Sau Tao” brand and Chewy, which were founded in the 1960s and 1970s respectively. Sun Shun Fuk (新順福食品) and “Sau Tao” brand (壽桃牌) Left: Sun Shun Fuk […]
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