Everything is back in order, I won’t be suing, casino king tells viewers
Martin Wong and Ng Yuk-hang 27 January 2011
Making his first public appearance in the back-and-forth saga of his contested gambling empire, Stanley Ho Hung-sun said in a television interview yesterday that everything was back in order and that he would not sue his family members after all.
Appearing on TVB at noon, the magnate appeared to be reading from a script on a large white board held up in front of him.
“I thank [lawyer] Gordon [Oldham] for intervening. Now I do not need Gordon any more,” Ho read from the board, breathing laboriously.
But a few hours later, Oldham appeared in the High Court and contradicted what had been shown at noon. He said he had arrived directly from a meeting with Ho, who he was still representing. Oldham hinted that a big move was coming. “I think you will be surprised,” he said.
The saga unfolded after it was revealed this week that the tycoon’s control of his sprawling empire was diluted almost to nothing.
Last night, there was yet another twist when Angela Ho Chiu-yin, daughter of Ho’s deceased first wife Clementina De Mello Leitao, issued a statement.
She said in it she could not believe her father would leave nothing to her mother’s family, as he had “always prided himself on being a fair, just and honest person”.
“Her [her mother’s ]connections in Portugal and standing in Macau society was a big factor for my father winning the gambling monopoly in 1961. Daddy never forgot her importance in the creation of the empire he presides [over] today. My father speaks to me often and has stated publicly about how he intends to divide his estate evenly amongst his children and I therefore find statements and actions made and taken by his mistresses and their children, which do not conform to this wish, highly disconcerting and hurtful.”
She also said she had tried to contact Ina Chan Un Chan (Ho’s third wife) Pansy and Daisy (daughters of his second wife) many times about these issues but they had ignored her.
Oldham, senior partner at Oldham, Li and Nie, said in the afternoon that he had recorded video of Ho’s Tuesday morning affirmation saying he was fighting to regain control of Lanceford, the key holding company in his corporate empire.
An announcement by listed holding company SJM on Tuesday afternoon appeared to support this, saying the casino company’s board of directors “has also been informed that the Lanceford [transfer of control] is disputed by Dr Ho and that Dr Ho is seeking a means by which such matters can be resolved.”
Shares of SJM immediately plunged 9 per cent when they resumed trading yesterday morning after a suspension on Tuesday to respond to a story in this newspaper. The shares later climbed back and closed down 4.93 per cent at HK$13.12.
During the noon TV appearance, Ho was flanked by third wife Chan, on his left, and their daughter, Florinda Ho Chiu-wan, holding a microphone. On his right, daughters of his second wife, Lucina Laam King-ying - Pansy, Daisy and Maisy - stood about three metres away. It is unclear who wrote the words on the board he read from.
The wheelchair-bound Ho left the living room immediately after delivering the statement. He did not take any questions.
The tycoon made the statement in Chan’s house at 5 Black’s Link, which saw people coming in and out throughout the day, creating a frenzy for the throng of reporters waiting outside the gate.
The family apparently had a meeting at about 3pm, when children of the four wives were seen entering the house.
Ho left the house at 3.35pm in the company of his fourth wife, Angela Leong On-kei, and their daughter Sabrina. They went back to his home at 1 Repulse Bay Road.
Oldham was seen entering the house at 4.30pm, and came out 15 minutes later with a cheque in his hand. He went to the High Court afterwards.
Privately-held Lanceford, the holding company for the bulk of the billionaire’s wealth, owns Ho’s controlling 31.655 per cent stake in 50-year-old conglomerate Sociedade de Turismo e Diversoes de Macau (STDM). STDM in turn owns 55.7 per cent of SJM, which indirectly operates 20 of Macau’s 33 casinos.
The issue of new shares in Lanceford that shifted ultimate control of STDM took place on December 27. The issue reduced Stanley Ho’s stake in Lanceford from 100 per cent to 0.02 per cent, and boosted the combined interest of Laam’s five children and Chan to 99.98 per cent from zero.
This was done “without Ho’s consent and knowledge”, according to a letter from Ho to Daisy dated January 5. In that letter, the tycoon said he had intended for his main assets to be distributed equally among each of his four families.
That was contradicted by a subsequent reply from Daisy to her father on January 7.
Moreover, another statement that was signed by Ho and was read out by Chan on Tuesday night said the whole matter was a misunderstanding that involved no cheating among family members, and that the matter did not require lawyers or the courts to settle.
This prompted the following response from lawyer Oldham yesterday morning: “We don’t pay too much attention to a press release issued at midnight by a third mistress who has a billion-dollar interest in the outcome of this.”
“It is business as usual. We have our instructions from Stanley Ho and are carrying on,” he said.
Leong, who is also director of SJM and managing director of its Macau operating unit, said yesterday after leaving Chan’s house she would not comment on “gossip”.
Asked to comment on Chan’s emergence as one of the biggest indirect shareholders of SJM, Leong said: “We have many shareholders. No matter big or small, they are all concerned with the development of the company. We will be accountable to them.” She did not comment on whether Ho was conscious of his actions.
Contacted yesterday, none of STDM’s other major shareholders would comment on recent developments within the Ho family empire. The family of Cheng Yu-tung, the Henry Fok Ying Tung Foundation and Ho’s estranged sister, Winnie Ho Yuen-ki, all declined to comment.
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TV appearance adds to Ho mystery
Everything is back in order, I won’t be suing, casino king tells viewers
Martin Wong and Ng Yuk-hang
27 January 2011
Making his first public appearance in the back-and-forth saga of his contested gambling empire, Stanley Ho Hung-sun said in a television interview yesterday that everything was back in order and that he would not sue his family members after all.
Appearing on TVB at noon, the magnate appeared to be reading from a script on a large white board held up in front of him.
“I thank [lawyer] Gordon [Oldham] for intervening. Now I do not need Gordon any more,” Ho read from the board, breathing laboriously.
But a few hours later, Oldham appeared in the High Court and contradicted what had been shown at noon. He said he had arrived directly from a meeting with Ho, who he was still representing. Oldham hinted that a big move was coming. “I think you will be surprised,” he said.
The saga unfolded after it was revealed this week that the tycoon’s control of his sprawling empire was diluted almost to nothing.
Last night, there was yet another twist when Angela Ho Chiu-yin, daughter of Ho’s deceased first wife Clementina De Mello Leitao, issued a statement.
She said in it she could not believe her father would leave nothing to her mother’s family, as he had “always prided himself on being a fair, just and honest person”.
“Her [her mother’s ]connections in Portugal and standing in Macau society was a big factor for my father winning the gambling monopoly in 1961. Daddy never forgot her importance in the creation of the empire he presides [over] today. My father speaks to me often and has stated publicly about how he intends to divide his estate evenly amongst his children and I therefore find statements and actions made and taken by his mistresses and their children, which do not conform to this wish, highly disconcerting and hurtful.”
She also said she had tried to contact Ina Chan Un Chan (Ho’s third wife) Pansy and Daisy (daughters of his second wife) many times about these issues but they had ignored her.
Oldham, senior partner at Oldham, Li and Nie, said in the afternoon that he had recorded video of Ho’s Tuesday morning affirmation saying he was fighting to regain control of Lanceford, the key holding company in his corporate empire.
An announcement by listed holding company SJM on Tuesday afternoon appeared to support this, saying the casino company’s board of directors “has also been informed that the Lanceford [transfer of control] is disputed by Dr Ho and that Dr Ho is seeking a means by which such matters can be resolved.”
Shares of SJM immediately plunged 9 per cent when they resumed trading yesterday morning after a suspension on Tuesday to respond to a story in this newspaper. The shares later climbed back and closed down 4.93 per cent at HK$13.12.
During the noon TV appearance, Ho was flanked by third wife Chan, on his left, and their daughter, Florinda Ho Chiu-wan, holding a microphone. On his right, daughters of his second wife, Lucina Laam King-ying - Pansy, Daisy and Maisy - stood about three metres away. It is unclear who wrote the words on the board he read from.
The wheelchair-bound Ho left the living room immediately after delivering the statement. He did not take any questions.
The tycoon made the statement in Chan’s house at 5 Black’s Link, which saw people coming in and out throughout the day, creating a frenzy for the throng of reporters waiting outside the gate.
The family apparently had a meeting at about 3pm, when children of the four wives were seen entering the house.
Ho left the house at 3.35pm in the company of his fourth wife, Angela Leong On-kei, and their daughter Sabrina. They went back to his home at 1 Repulse Bay Road.
Oldham was seen entering the house at 4.30pm, and came out 15 minutes later with a cheque in his hand. He went to the High Court afterwards.
Privately-held Lanceford, the holding company for the bulk of the billionaire’s wealth, owns Ho’s controlling 31.655 per cent stake in 50-year-old conglomerate Sociedade de Turismo e Diversoes de Macau (STDM). STDM in turn owns 55.7 per cent of SJM, which indirectly operates 20 of Macau’s 33 casinos.
The issue of new shares in Lanceford that shifted ultimate control of STDM took place on December 27. The issue reduced Stanley Ho’s stake in Lanceford from 100 per cent to 0.02 per cent, and boosted the combined interest of Laam’s five children and Chan to 99.98 per cent from zero.
This was done “without Ho’s consent and knowledge”, according to a letter from Ho to Daisy dated January 5. In that letter, the tycoon said he had intended for his main assets to be distributed equally among each of his four families.
That was contradicted by a subsequent reply from Daisy to her father on January 7.
Moreover, another statement that was signed by Ho and was read out by Chan on Tuesday night said the whole matter was a misunderstanding that involved no cheating among family members, and that the matter did not require lawyers or the courts to settle.
This prompted the following response from lawyer Oldham yesterday morning: “We don’t pay too much attention to a press release issued at midnight by a third mistress who has a billion-dollar interest in the outcome of this.”
“It is business as usual. We have our instructions from Stanley Ho and are carrying on,” he said.
Leong, who is also director of SJM and managing director of its Macau operating unit, said yesterday after leaving Chan’s house she would not comment on “gossip”.
Asked to comment on Chan’s emergence as one of the biggest indirect shareholders of SJM, Leong said: “We have many shareholders. No matter big or small, they are all concerned with the development of the company. We will be accountable to them.” She did not comment on whether Ho was conscious of his actions.
Contacted yesterday, none of STDM’s other major shareholders would comment on recent developments within the Ho family empire. The family of Cheng Yu-tung, the Henry Fok Ying Tung Foundation and Ho’s estranged sister, Winnie Ho Yuen-ki, all declined to comment.
Additional reporting by Neil Gough
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