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Chan Chung Bun
Chan Chung Bun
Chairman, Prospectful Holdings Ltd.
Sex: Male Birthyear: Late 1950s Age at Interview: 56-60 Education: Upper Secondary Occupation: Industrialist Theme: Industry, Community Right after Chan graduated from secondary school in 1976, he worked at Kai Ngai Embroidery Factory as a clerk and a trainee. Kai Ngai was home-style factory located in Tam Kung Mansion, Tam Kung Road, To Kwa Wan. It was opened in three connected residential units with 70 to 80 workers. At that time, there were many similar small factories in the area. Secondary school graduates in those days generally wanted to get office jobs, but Chan thought that clerical work was competitive and replaceable. In view of the booming manufacturing sector, he went to work as a clerk at a factory and learnt to sew so as to equip himself with a professional skill. He gave up an opportunity to be an accounting clerk for this factory job.
Title Joining garment industry to equip himself with a professional skill Date 26/03/2013 Subject Industry Duration 1m47s Language Cantonese Material Type Audio Collection Oral History Archives Repository Hong Kong Memory Project Note to Copyright Copyright owned by Hong Kong Memory Project Accession No. TKW-CCB-HLT-001 After working three and a half years at Kai Ngai Embroidery Factory, Chan Chung Bun was commissioned by a secondary school classmate of his, who was then working for an advertising agency, to make gift travel bags. With a capital of 2000 dollars, he applied for a factory license from the Trade and Industry Department. He rented a 400 square-foot flat on the 10th floor of Mei King Mansion Phase 2 on Mei King Street in To Kwa Wan for 450 dollars a month, and renovated it himself into a factory. Mei King Mansion was a private residential building, and on each of its floor lived 50 to 60 households.
Title Founding his factory in a residential building in To Kwa Wan Date 26/03/2013 Subject Industry, Community Duration 1m58s Language Cantonese Material Type Audio Collection Oral History Archives Repository Hong Kong Memory Project Note to Copyright Copyright owned by Hong Kong Memory Project Accession No. TKW-CCB-HLT-002 Flats in the Mei King Mansion were mainly for residential use, but some were made into quarters for restaurant staff. There were also many factories (such as plastic flower and silk flower factories) and warehouse concentrating on the ground floor, the first as well as the second floors. Chan believed that the building’s rent was low and labour supply was sufficient there, making it the ideal location for setting up factories. Most of the floor area in the factory in Mei King Mansion was used for cutting and packaging. There were only a few sewing machines and female workers. Since the factory shared the same elevator with other residents, it would only load the cargo up and down the building during the night or non-peak hours to avoid causing nuisances to people in the neighbourhood. It often had to do the ironing and packing at midnight, while transporting cargo to the ground floor and loading onto trucks early in the morning for delivery.
Title Co-ordinating an outsource team of housewives Date 26/03/2013 Subject Industry,Community Duration 2m42s Language Cantonese Material Type Audio Collection Oral History Archives Repository Hong Kong Memory Project Note to Copyright Copyright owned by Hong Kong Memory Project Accession No. TKW-CCB-HLT-003 Chan Chung Bun analyzed that the rents in To Kwa Wan were not cheap. The rent per square foot was four to six dollars for a small flat on Mok Cheong Street and Sheung Heung Road. The smallest flat in large industrial building on Yuk Yat Street was approximately 10,000 square feet in size. There were few public housings in the district, so the factory workers in Tam Kung Mansion in Tam Kung Mansion came primarily from Lok Man Sun Chuen (near Maidstone Road ) and Chun Seen Mei Chuen. Factories on Yuk Yat Street were far away from the public housing estates, so they got their supply of labour mainly from old private residential buildings. The rent per square foot in industrial buildings in Kwun Tong was only two to three dollars and labours were abundant there. Conversely, San Po Kong was remote and labours were scarce. After Kwun Tong was connected to the MTR network, Chan moved his factory there.
Title Relocating his factory to Kwun Tong after production expansion Date 26/03/2013 Subject Industry, Community Duration 3m6s Language Cantonese Material Type Audio Collection Oral History Archives Repository Hong Kong Memory Project Note to Copyright Copyright owned by Hong Kong Memory Project Accession No. TKW-CCB-HLT-004 Chan Chung Bun thought that To Kwa Wan was a special area: it was self-contained because it was located on the edge of the city and separated from Central Kowloon by Ho Man Tin Hill. To Kwa Wan was an area where grass-root citizens gathered and lived. The factories provided employment opportunities for them, while the adequate labour supply, in return, fostered industrial development. The district was self-sufficient with factories and office buildings. Since the completion of Wyler Gardens, the industrial To Kwa Wan turned into a residential area, although it failed to develop well. The presence of gas drums and slaughter house also made in a less than ideal place to live in. On the other hand, the emergence of residential buildings limited To Kwa Wan’s potential to develop into a large industrial district. There were only sporadic factory buildings seen on Mok Cheong Street, Yuk Yat Street and Sheung Heung Road.
Title Characteristic of industrial development in To Kwa Wan Date 26/03/2013 Subject Industry, Community Duration 3m20s Language Cantonese Material Type Audio Collection Oral History Archives Repository Hong Kong Memory Project Note to Copyright Copyright owned by Hong Kong Memory Project Accession No. TKW-CCB-HLT-005