Arthur Rylands Lowe (22 June 1873 – 31 May 1924) was a British accountant and the first full-time professional accountant in Hong Kong. Lowe was born on 22 June 1873 in Manchester. He was educated at the Hulme Grammar School and later joined Parkinson, Mather & Co., chartered accountants of Manchester and London. He moved to Hong Kong to join Butterfield […]
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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: 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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Homi Villa, a distinctive white building, was built by Jehangir Hormusjee Ruttonjee, 律敦治, as a convenient place from which to oversee the construction of the Hong Kong Brewers and Distillers Ltd Brewery at nearby Sham Tseng. It’s located on an attractive promontory at 401 Castle Peak Road overlooking the Ma Wan Channel. It was subsequently purchased by the Hong Kong Government […]
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Our article, Ping Shan Enterprise Co Ltd, disused factory, Yuen Long, notes that the company was co-founded by Wai Nam Chan and Lam Chok Fai. Here are some brief biographical details about Wai Nam Chan. Thanks to York Lo for informing us of the link to the HKU citation from which the following extract has been taken: “Mr Wai Nam Chan […]
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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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