HF: The engineerng consultancy Binnie & Partners, though British, has had a close connection to Hong Kong through several large-scale engineering projects. From the late 1990s it has been part of the multi-national consultancy Black and Veatch which has its HK office in Ngau Tau Kok. In 1909 AR Binnie and Son merged with another UK engineering consultancy to become […]
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York Lo: Cheong Hing Co/Cheung Hing Construction (祥興建造) – leading building contractor Left: Cheong Hing ad with picture of the Queen’s Garden civil servant quarters on May Road which was completed in 1949. (HKBCA) Right: Cheong Hing founder and manager Yee Chung (HKBCA yearbook) Cheong Hing Co and its successor firm Cheung Hing Construction Co Ltd (the Chinese name stayed […]
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York Lo: Kam Kook Yuen (金菊園) – A Century of Delicious Dried Meat Left: Kam Kook Yuen ad promoting its dried duck during Chinese New Year in 1964 (WKYP, 1964-2-9); Right: Kam Kook Yuen ad featuring the popular cartoon character Old Master Q, probably in the early 1960s based on the number of outlets listed in the bottom Aside from […]
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York Lo: Unitex (裕泰針織) Left: IPO notice of Unitex in 1972 (WKYP, 1972-12-15) ; right : article about the IPO of Unitex in 1972 (WKYP, 1972-12-5) Unitex Ltd was a leading publicly listed knitwear manufacturer in Hong Kong in the 1970s and 1980s, making shirts for the leading brands in the US and Europe. The firm was founded in 1960 by Frank […]
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Hugh Farmer: Recent updated information is highlighted in red. I grew up with Dinky Toys as did many British boys in the 1950s and 60s and had a good collection of battered, tyre less cars. I had always assumed they were made in England and indeed the main factory was at Binns Road, Liverpool. It is perhaps difficult to believe […]
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York Lo: Ching Chun-kau (程振球) – Real Estate, Amusement Park and Resort Pioneer Ching Chun-kau (left, HKBCA) and his most famous project – Kai Tak Amusement Park (right) In the 1950s through 1970s, Ching Chun-kau was a prominent figure in HK business circles as he was involved in a variety of businesses ranging from construction, property development, an amusement park, […]
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York Lo: Cheng Keng-chuen (鄭鏡泉) – Developer behind Alhambra Building (平安大厦) and Evergreen Villa (松柏新邨) Ads for two of Alhambra’s most prominent projects – Alhambra Building (left) and Yuet Wah Mansion (right, WKYP, 1964-12-16) In the late 1950s and early 1960s, one of most active property developers in Hong Kong was Cheng Keng-chuan, whose property companies were involved in landmark […]
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York Lo: Lee On and Ying Kee – manufacturers of safes and steel furniture Local manufacturing of safes has existed since the early 1900s and within this specialized industry, Lee On and Ying Kee were two of the oldest and largest players (which also manufacture steel furniture in addition to safes) and both happen to be founded by Cantonese industrialists […]
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York Lo: The Fourth Horse: Ma Ping-san (馬平山) of M. Ping San Co., Tin Wah Gourmet Powder Factory and On Wah Perfume Co. Left: trademark registration for M. Ping San Co. in 1938 (HK Government Reports); Right: Ma Ping-san and wife at a charity concert by the Cantonese opera troupe Sin Fung Ming (仙鳳鳴) in 1961 (WKYP, 1961-2-17) Earlier on […]
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York Lo: The Hioe family and Yoeng Nam Hien & Co (榮南興) From the 1930s to 1960s, Yoeng Nam Hien & Co was one of the leading trading companies in Hong Kong specialized in trading between HK/China and Southeast Asia, specifically Indonesia where the firm’s owner the Hioe family had built an enormous fortune tracing back to the late 19th […]
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