London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 09, 2025

When Ming Tak Bank’s owner went bankrupt, Hong Kong almost ran out of money

When Ming Tak Bank’s owner went bankrupt, Hong Kong almost ran out of money

In 1965, a run on the bank owned by Poon Kai-kwong led to rumours of trouble at other Chinese banks. British pound notes were flown in and restrictions were placed on withdrawals, eventually restoring confidence
“There was a run on the Ming Tak Bank at the junction of Pedder Street and Queen’s Road Central and its branch in Nathan Road, Tsimshatsui, Kowloon, yesterday,” reported the South China Morning Post on January 27, 1965. It started “when several clients complained that their American dollar cashier’s cheques, issued by Ming Tak, were not honoured in the United States”, the story continued. “The bank, however, managed to pay their clients with current accounts and saving accounts on demand till late in the afternoon when it ran out of cash.”

The following day, the Post reported that the commissioner of banking, Leonidas Cole, had taken control of Ming Tak Bank and all public operations had been suspended.

According to a February 5 Post article, “it became apparent that the company could not save itself as a bank” and Ming Tak’s owner, Poon Kai-kwong, subsequently filed an application for a receiving order “of his own volition”.

“There was ‘some urgency’ in view of the fact that there were some thousands of depositors who, unless the Ming Tak Bank’s assets were liquidated, could not receive their money,” the article said.

After rumours that other banks were in trouble circulated in the colony, the Post reported “heavy runs on other Chinese banks”, including the Hang Seng Bank and the Canton Trust and Commercial Bank. However, John James Cowperthwaite, the colony’s financial secretary, was quick to reassure the public. “Hongkong’s banking and financial structure is sound; and is backed by ample resources,” he is quoted as saying in a February 9 Post article.

A day later, the Post reported that the government had implemented emergency restrictions on withdrawals from all bank accounts, limited to HK$100 a day per account, in a bid to ease a “critical” shortage of banknotes, while British pound notes were being flown in and would become legal tender.

“I ask you please to be calm and not make the present situation any more difficult,” entreated governor David Trench. “It is not money in its proper sense that may perhaps run short – we have ample financial resources here – but the paper notes which represent money.”

As confidence in the banking system was restored, the runs stopped. “The Colony’s banks experienced a normal day yesterday as Government lifted the emergency regulations,” reported the Post on February 17.

The pounds that arrived from London were not issued.

Ming Tak Bank did not reopen, though. “The bankruptcy of the sole proprietor of the Ming Tak Bank, with liabilities of over $12m, is believed to be the largest ever to occur in Hongkong,” reported the Post on December 9.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
The Davos Set in Decline: Why the World Economic Forum’s Power Must Be Challenged
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
×