Hong Kong Family Feuds Over Macau Casinos
4 July 2005
The Ho family of Hong Kong, owners of 15 Macao Casinos, have deepened their rift. Stanley Ho, 83, has disowned his 82-year-old sister, Winnie. Last week, Mr. Ho led a shareholder vote to oust Ms. Ho as a shareholder in STDM, resulting from a debate regarding company dividends. If the decision is approved by the Macao courts, Ms. Ho will be forced to sell off her shares, valued at $769 million.
Stanley Ho was born in Hong Kong to the Ho Tung family, and moved to Macau in the 1940’s. In the 1960’s, he teamed up with Henry Fok and other partners, at which time the Macau government approved a deal to allow the company to hold a 40-year monopoly on Macau’s casinos. While the deal expired in 2002, STDM currently controls 15 of the 17 casinos in Macau and has stakes in almost every major industry in the Chinese enclave, including hotels, ports, airports, television networks, and bridges. Overall the company accounted for 42% of Macau’s economy in 2004.
In 2001, Winnie Ho was sued for a bounced check of $1.5 million, which her son, Michael Mak said was part of a plot to gain Ms. Ho’s shares of the company, as evidenced by repeated efforts to give Stanley Ho’ daughter and wives a more active role in the casino company. In response to her recent ousting from the company, Ms. Ho said she would sue her brother for taking her position and appointing his third and fourth wives as the new directors. Ms. Ho said that she had posted the full capital for the company, using a gift from her cousin and lover Eric Hotung. She believes her case is very strong because she has not received any dividends from the casinos or other business ventures since 2001.
Source: Authorized Online Casinos News Staff
All trademarks and copyrighted information contained herein are the property of their respective owners.
Related Articles
|
