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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
the granting of mining leases, and advising the Government generally on matters relating to land.
Spurred on by the keen demand for housing and office accommodation, and nourished by a continued inflow of capital from outside the Colony, the building industry was actively engaged throughout the year erecting new build- ings of every description, large and small. This building activity was naturally reflected in the number of land transactions registered in the Land Office, and the total number of instruments so registered during the year was 14,330, or some 14% more than last year's record total. The amount involved in these transactions rose by 16% over the previous year's figure to the prodigious total of $809,984,000. Selling flats outright instead of leasing them has developed into a standard practice with many builders, who with, the capital so realized repeat the process of building and selling. The amount advanced on mortgages of land registered in 1957 rose by nearly $40,000,000 over the previous year's total to $244,967,000. The trend towards lower interest rates noted in the previous two years was reversed, and the average rate rose from about 11% per annum to about 12% per annum.
Companies. The Companies Registry maintains records of all companies incorporated in the Colony, and of all foreign corporations carrying on business in the Colony. At the end of the year there were 2,980 local companies and 366 foreign corporations registered compared with 2,740 and 365 respectively in 1956.
The Companies Ordinance is based on the United King- dom Companies Act, 1929 (now repealed). On incorporation in Hong Kong a company pays a fixed fee of $100 plus $2 per $1,000 of nominal share capital. Foreign corpora- tions establishing a place of business in the Colony do not have to pay this fee: they merely pay $5 fees on filing the documents required by Section 318 of the Companies Ordinance (Cap. 32).