ENG-1962 — Page 266

LAW, ORDER AND RECORDS

219

sub-divided multi-storey buildings submitted its report and the recommendations were under consideration at the end of the year. In certain cases where the conditions under which the land was held gave the necessary power, measures were taken to con- trol the sale of flats in uncompleted buildings inter alia by requiring moneys paid in advance for units in the building to be used for that building only. These measures no doubt had a salutary effect in checking over-speculation. The adoption by some banks of a tighter lending policy had the same effect, but even so there is obviously still a great deal of money available to finance attractive projects.

Land Office statistics for the year reflect-prevailing boom con- ditions. The number of instruments registered reached the record total of 28,089 as against last year's total of 26,735. The total of con- siderations recorded was $2,155,289,805, including $408,702,808 passing on sales of flats and $731,755,682 advanced on mortgages of land at an average rate of about 11 per cent per annum. At the end of the year the Land Office card index of property owners included the names of over 67,396 people, some owning several properties, others being merely co-owners of a small flat. A record number of 697 conditions of sale, extension, exchange, grant and re-grant of Crown land in the urban areas were put through during the year.

The Land Office maintains an elaborate card index showing the lot or section of a lot on which every building having a street number stands. The information contained in the index as at 31st March 1961 was published in the 27th edition of The Street Index which consists of two large volumes, one for Hong Kong and one for Kowloon and New Kowloon.

Companies. The Companies Registry keeps records of all com- panies incorporated in Hong Kong and also of all foreign corpora- tions which have established a place of business in the Colony. Local companies are incorporated under the Companies Ordinance, which is based on the (now superseded) Companies Act, 1929, of Great Britain. On incorporation a company pays a registration fee of $100 plus $2 for every $1,000 of nominal capital. Whereas in the past joint enterprises by Chinese businessmen were under- taken mainly in the form of Chinese partnerships of the traditional type, Chinese businessmen have of recent years become 'company