The Hongs

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For other uses, see Hong.

The Hongs (Chinese: 行) were major business houses in Hong Kong with significant influence on patterns of consumerism, trades, manufacturing and other key areas of the economy.

Contents

[edit] Origin

Prior to the establishment of Hong Kong, the name "Hong" was given to major business houses under the Chinese word 行. The Thirteen Factories are the original merchants in China under the Qing government.

Historically, the factories faded before they had any direct effect on Hong Kong's economic birth. Hong Kong generally begin counting the Hongs from the first generation of western or foreign companies, since they provided direct financial backings during the Colonial Hong Kong era.

Jardine Matheson had a Shanghai headquarters on the Bund, just south of the British Consulate. The headquarter was called "the Ewo Hong", or "Ewo House", after the Cantonese pronunciation of the company's Chinese name (怡和, yi wo).[1] However, this is likely not the original source of the name, since the British have documented the term "Hong" during the times of the Thirteen Factories.

The term is most often used in reference to Colonial Hong Kong companies directly. In modern day sense, the term is loosely used to describe influential companies.

[edit] History

Prior to any banking institutions, besides small foreign bank branches, the three firms that financed most of Hong Kong's economic activities were the Jardine's, Dent's and the Russell's.[2] Hence, most sources credit them as the original three.

The Hongs began during China's Qing dynasty, and grew in influence and power as Hong Kong separated from Imperial China in the early 19th Century. The original entities were mostly founded by westerners, namely British settlers within the Colonial Hong Kong community. The head of companies were referred to as tai-pans.

Most firms became true multinational corporations, and management consisted mostly of European expatriates.[3]

By 1997 many of the hongs had diversified their holdings and shifted their headquarters offshore away from Hong Kong to avoid any potential communist party takeovers.[3]

[edit] Conglomerates of colonial Hong Kong

Note: Below are lists of companies that had a predominant effect on Hong Kong's economy at a particular era. Notability are up for debate. Official names of the era are used.

[edit] 1843

  • 12 large British firms[2]
  • 10 small British merchants
  • 6 Indian Parsee companies
  • 1 American company

[edit] 1844

[edit] 1850s

  • Wheelock Marden 1857

[edit] 1860s

  • Gilman and Bowman - established by Richard James Gilman as a tea trader in 1840; taken over by Duncan Patterson of Australia 1917 and became a privately held company; now part of Inchcape Group (1958)
  • Hong Kong and China Gas Company

[edit] 1870s

[edit] 1890s

[edit] 1900s

[edit] 1910s

[edit] Conglomerates of modern Hong Kong

[edit] 1960s

[edit] 1970s

[edit] 1980s

[edit] 1990s

[edit] Post-handover

The old British hongs continue to operate in Hong Kong after 1997, but a few are now held by local Hong Kong Chinese businessmen.

Since the 1980s, a number of local Chinese and mainland Chinese firms have challenged the control of the Hong Kong economy previously held by the British hongs:

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Tales of Old Shanghai. "Earnshaw.com." The Hongs. Retrieved on 2007-03-29.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Sunzi1. "Sunzi1." "Hong Kong Hongs with Long Histories and British Connections." Retrieved on 2007-03-29.
  3. ^ a b c Genzberger, Christine A. [1994] (1994) Hong Kong Business: The Portable Encyclopedia for Doing Business with Hong Kong. ISBN 0963186477

[edit] External links