Published : 2025-03-03
Hang Seng Bank was founded on March 3, 1933.
The name "Hang Seng" was chosen to signify "ever-growing" in Chinese, symbolising the bank growing together with its customers.
The market capitalisation of Hang Seng Bank exceeds HKD200 billion, making it one of the largest listed companies in Hong Kong.
Hang Seng Bank was formerly known as "Hang Seng Ngan Ho" (恒生銀號), and it was founded by Lam Bing-yim (林炳炎), Ho Sin-hang (何善衡), Leung Chik-wai (梁植偉), and Sheng Chun-lin (盛春霖) on March 3, 1933.
The four founders met in the late 1920s. At that time, Lam Bing-yim and Sheng Chun-lin had already established "Sang Tai Ngan Ho" and "Hang Hing Ngan Ho" in Shanghai, while Ho Sin-hang and Leung Chik-wai were engaged in the gold and silver industry in Guangzhou.
From the opening of Hong Kong until 1949, both Hong Kong residents and Chinese residents in the Mainland could freely travel, conduct business, and settle in both regions.
This freedom to travel and trade contributed to the relationship between the four partners, who often visited the Hong Kong gold market for trading, enabling their acquaintance.
They decided to pool their resources and established "Hang Seng Ngan Ho" primarily for gold trading, exchange, and currency conversion because of their shared vision.
It is said that in the early days of Hang Seng Ngan Ho, the actual capital was only HKD100,000. At that time, Lam Bing-yim served as the first chairman, Ho Sin-hang and Leung Chik-wai serving as manager and deputy manager respectively, while Sheng Chun-lin only held the position of director without any executive role.
The store was located on Wing Lok Street in Sheung Wan, Hong Kong, covering an area of only 800 square feet, and the number of its staff, including the shopkeeper, street runners, gold traders, and apprentices, was only 11 in total.
In its early days, Hang Seng Ngan Ho's business strategy was to make up for its shortcomings by diligence and to learn from others. The bank operated six days a week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., primarily serving small merchants and the ordinary public neglected by foreign banks.
It also targeted the emerging small and medium-sized manufacturers.
Compared to other banks, Hang Seng's customer base seemed average, but because of its deep penetration into the Chinese community, which made up the majority in Hong Kong at the time, the name "Hang Seng" gradually became well-known.
By 1952, Hang Seng Ngan Ho was registered as a private limited company with a registered capital of HKD10 million and a paid-up capital of HKD5 million.
After the registration, Ho Sin-hang was appointed as chairman, Leung Chik-wai as vice chairman, and Ho Tim, one of the 11 original staff members, was appointed as general manager.
By the late 1950s, Hang Seng's total assets had caught up with and exceeded many long-established Chinese banks.
In 1960, Hang Seng Ngan Ho officially was renamed to Hang Seng Bank, as it is known today.
