Editing Hongkong Land (section)

===Founding===
Hongkong Land was formed on 2 March 1889 and was initially named The Hongkong Land Investment and Agency Company Limited. It was founded by two businessmen in Hong Kong — Sir [[Paul Chater]] and [[James Johnstone Keswick]]. Besides property, Chater was also known for his interests in brokerage and bullion while Keswick was [[Tai-pan]] of [[Jardine Matheson|Jardine, Matheson and Company Limited]].

Chater had been lobbying for some time in government circles for a new [[land reclamation in Hong Kong|reclamation]] project in the Victoria District in Central Hong Kong and the construction of a new [[Praya]] along the harbour front. Six days after the formation of Hongkong Land, he got his way. The reclaimed land was to yield an area of {{convert|65|acre|m2}} of building land some {{convert|250|ft|m}} wide along a new waterfront road that came to be known as [[Chater Road]]. This "[[Praya Reclamation Scheme|Central Reclamation]]" has since become a core element of Hong Kong's Central District, forming as it does the land between today's [[Des Voeux Road Central]] and [[Connaught Road Central]], including [[Statue Square]] and Chater Road itself.

The four-storey New Oriental Building was the first commercial building on the Central Reclamation built on Marine Lot 278 at No. 2 on the then newly formed Connaught Road and completed in 1898.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://gwulo.com/new-oriental-building|title=2 Connaught Road / New Oriental Building [1898-c.1955] &#124; Gwulo: Old Hong Kong|website=gwulo.com}}</ref> This building was demolished in the early 1960s and the site is today occupied by the AIA Central building. The Chater Road reclamation can thus be seen as the starting point for Hongkong Land's development of "Central" as Hong Kong's business district.