HF: Delfino Noronha (1824-1900) ran a printing press in Hong Kong from 1844, Noronha and Co., a quasi-government printer, which later on became the actual Hong Kong Government Printer. He was also involved in the first regular ferry between Hong Kong Island and Kowloon though this was apparently little more than a weekend pleasure launch to his “country house” in Yau […]
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York Lo: Ng Lian-chin (黃連振, 1922-2015) and Life Records (麗風唱片) Left: logo of Life Records; Right: Ng Lian-chin with young Teresa Teng Southeast Asia, particularly the Chinese diaspora in the region,has always been an important market for many HK products including music records. In the 1960s and 1970s, a Malaysian Chinese entrepreneur by the name of Ng Lian-chin was a […]
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York Lo: Kar Cheung Chong Bank (嘉彰莊銀行) Founded in 1911 and operated out of the Nam Pak Hong district, Kar Cheung Chong Bank was a Chinese banking firm in HK and affiliate of Tan Peng Choon Banking Co in Thailand and Swatow which played a key role in the trade and remittance between HK, Swatow and Thailand for decades before […]
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York Lo: From Transistor Radios to Bicycle Meters: the Yuen family and Kendy Enterprise (堅力實業) and Dayton Industrial (達騰工業) Left: Kendy portable radio from the 1960s; Right: Dayton group founders Jack and Daisy Yuen with their son Paul (Bicycle Retailer & Industry News, 2012-10) While the general public in HK might be familiar with Andrew Yuen Wai-man (阮偉文) from the […]
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York Lo: Fung Cheong Shun (豐昌順) – from Dyeing Factory to King of School Uniforms Left: Billboard for Fung Cheong Shun fabric using Caledon dye next to A Fong Studio in the 1930s; Right: Fung Cheong Shun ad in 1967 (HK Pun U District Association) Fung Cheong Shun, the oldest and largest maker of school uniforms in Hong Kong with […]
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York Lo: Sun Hing Building (新興大廈) and its Developers Ad for Sun Hing Building in 1964 (WKYP, 1964-2-11) Designed by the famous architect Eric Cumine, the 29-story Sun Hing Building at 603-609A Nathan Road in Mongkok was the tallest building in Hong Kong when it opened in 1966. Its developer was Sun Hing Realty (新興實業), which was formed by two […]
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D.L. Wu (伍德鄰) (1905-1995) devoted his entire life to the shipping industry. After attending the Shanghai Baptist College and the University of the Philippines, he started his shipping career in Shanghai in 1928 where he worked for the China Merchants Steam Navigation Co. Ltd. Still in Shanghai, he joined the San Peh Steam Navigation Co. in 1937 and he was […]
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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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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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