Ying Ngan-ting (應雁亭, 1909-1972): Gold Magnate and Umbrella Manufacturer
York Lo: Ying Ngan-ting (應雁亭, 1909-1972): Gold Magnate and Umbrella Manufacturer
Left: an old ad for See Loy Umbrella Factory – likely in the 1960s based on the description on the right which mentioned that it has been popular for over eight decades. Right: Ying Ngan-ting (right) with Kwan Yuk-chi (left) of Hang Lung Bank as the new vice chairman and chairman of CGSE in 1954 (WKYP, 1954-6-16)
In the 1950s and 1960s, Chungshan native Ying Ngan-ting was a prominent financier and industrialist in Hong Kong as the chairman of the Chinese Gold & Silver Exchange Society (founded in 1910, hereafter referred to as CGSE) and owner of the historic See Loy Umbrella Factory, which had a longer history than its more famous competitor Leung So Kee.
See Loy Umbrella Factory (時來遮廠)
Profile of Ying Ngan-ting in 1954 (KSEN, 1954-12-21)
See Loy Umbrella Factory operated out of its main location at 67 Bonham Strand East and was founded in 1867. It is unclear if Ying inherited the factory from his ancestors and bought it from the family of its founders. By the early 1950s he was already the owner of the factory and also served as chairman of the HK Umbrella Manufacturers Association. At the 1955 HK Products Expo, See Loy had a booth on the 4th and 5th Street and was doing a 10 percent off sale with giveaways of free calendars (TKP, 1955-12 -7)
Opening of See Loy’s Kowloon branch on Nathan Road in 1957 (WKYP, 1957-7-6)
In July 1957, See Loy opened its Kowloon branch on the ground floor of the Dragon & Phoenix Restaurant on Nathan Road and at the time in addition to its main location on Bonham Strand it also had two other locations in HK. The opening ceremony was attended by several hundred guests with firecrackers as shown in above picture.
Based on various directories, See Loy continued to operate out of 67 Bonham Strand East into the 1980s and the site has since been re-developed into the Hillier Commercial Building (喜利商業大廈) in 1984.
Po Tack Bank (寶德銀號) and CGSE
Ying Ngan-ting’s higher profile role was perhaps that of the chairman of the CGSE. Little information is available about his Po Tack Bank which was member of the Exchange and he was already elected vice chairman of the Exchange by 1954 and first assumed the position of chairman in 1960. For whatever reason, he stepped down in 1962 and was succeeded by Ma Kam-woon (馬錦煥) of Tai Sang Bank but two years later was elected chairman again and served until 1970. During his tenure as chairman, Hong Kong went through several turbulent episodes including the banking crisis of 1965, the Star Ferry riots of 1966 and the left-wing riots of 1967 which contributed to volatility and increased interest in the gold market. As chairman of the Exchange, he frequently offered his views on the gold and currency market with the press.
Ying Ngan-ting and fellow directors of CGSE in 1961. First row starting from second from the left: Ng Kit-yee of Wing Lung Bank, Leung Kwai-yee of Kwong On Bank, Ho Tim of Hang Seng Bank, Fung Yiu-chun of Wing Hang Bank, Ying Ngan-ting, Ma Kam-woon of Tai Sang Bank, Ho Sin-hang of Hang Seng, Ma Kam-chan of Tai Sang. Woo Hon-fai is fourth from the right in the back row.
Ying Ngan-ting at the CGSE ceremony in 1964 when he resumed his position as chairman. Left to right: Frank Tung of Dao Heng Bank, Ying, outgoing chairman and incoming supervisor Ma Kam-woon, vice chairman Woo Hon-fai. (WKYP, 1964-7-2)
After he stepped down as chairman of CGSE in 1970, he remained an advisor to the Exchange and was involved in the founding of its stock exchange affiliate Kam Ngan Stock Exchange and remained on the board of the school sponsored by the Exchange. In August 1972, Ying died at the age of 63 at the HK Sanatorium and was survived by his two wives, two sons (Kam-sing and Kam-hung), daughter (Mei-yin) and son in law Cheng Toke-king and their two sons. (WKYP, 1972-8-15) His pallbearers included many of the CGSE directors listed above. It is unclear as to when See Loy Umbrella Factory and Po Tack Bank went out of business but they have both since faded into history.
Obituary of Ying Ngan-ting in 1972 (KSDN, 1972-8-15)
This article was first posted on 15th October 2012.
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