ENG-1956 — Page 243

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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT

The continued inflow of capital, an increasing population, and improved trade have resulted in rising land values, the construction of a great many new buildings, and more land transactions than ever before. 12,567 deeds and other instru- ments involving land transactions to a total value of $697,977,239 were registered in 1956, increases of 813 and nearly $48,000,000 respectively over 1955. It is now very common for flats to be sold outright instead of being leased, and this is the chief reason for the increased number of deeds registered. The amount advanced on mortgages of land was $205,035,473, which represents some $5,000,000 more than was advanced in 1955. The trend towards lower interest rates noted last year continued, the average rate being about 11% per annum as against 12% per annum last year.

During the year a new edition of the 'Street Index' of the Colony was completed and published. This Index which shows all the streets, house numbers and lots in Hong Kong, Kowloon and New Kowloon as at 31st December, 1955, took three years to complete owing to the very large number of land transactions which had been recorded since the last issue in 1938.

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 2,740 local companies on the Register, and 365 foreign corporations were registered as having places of business in the Colony. The decrease, as compared with last year's figures of 2,930 and 489 respectively, is due to the fact that a large number of companies, both local and foreign, which had not reconstructed their records since the war, were removed from the Registers during the year.

The Companies Ordinance is based on the United Kingdom Companies Act, 1929 (now repealed). On incorpora- tion in Hong Kong a company pays a fixed fee of $100, plus $2 per $1,000 of nominal share capital. Foreign cor-