Registrar-Generals-Department-Annual-report-1964-1965 — Page 12

with 63 (capital--$430,000,000). At the end of the year there were 8,638 local companies on the register, and 547 foreign corporations registered as having established a place of business in the Colony. Trade mark applications again exceeded 2,000, but the number was at 2,118, 20 lower than 1963-64's record total. Patent registrations, however, jumped by 70 to the new record total of 246.

Bankruptcies and Liquidations

13. The number of cases in which receiving, administration, or winding-up orders were made increased slightly to 22, but there were of course many more failures which never came into the hands of the Official Receiver. The bankruptcies included that of the sole proprietor of the Ming Tak Bank, which with liabilities of over $12,000,000 is believed to be the largest bankruptcy ever to occur in Hong Kong.

Births, Marriages and Deaths

14. The number of births registered in 1964 dropped by 6,744 to 108,519 including 106,937 Chinese and 1,582 non-Chinese. For the fifth successive year the birth rate fell, the 1964 rate of 29.4 per 1,000 of popu- lation being 2.7 below that for 1963 and 7.7 below that for 1960. 5,265 births were post-registered more than one year after birth, and 122 entries made in the Adopted Children Register.

15. The number of marriages registered in 1964-65 was at 12,608 92 less than in 1963-64, this being due to the fact that the Chinese lunar year was unlucky for marriages, being a 'blind' year, that is to say a lunar year in which there is no first day of Spring, the first day of Spring in 1964 occurring before the lunar year began and the first day of Spring in 1965 occurring after 2nd February 1965. Of the 12,608 marriages registered 11,233 were performed at the Registries and 1,375 in churches. The number of marriages in the New Territories Sub-Registries showed a gratifying increase of 221 to 724.

16. 18,113 deaths were registered, 1,635 less than in 1963, and the crude death rate dropped to 4.9 per 1,000 of population, which is one of the lowest in the world, the rate for the whole world being estimated at 18. The infant mortality rate continued its uninterrupted downward trend since 1950 dropping no less than 6.5 points to 26.4 per thousand live births, at which it compares very favourably with the rates of many of the countries whose rates are quoted for purposes of illustration in paragraph 144.

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