Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Hong Kong Giant Sun Hung Kai Ousts Chairman After Feud

Source : Channel NewsAsia, 27 May 2008

HONG KONG: Hong Kong's largest property firm Sun Hung Kai said Tuesday it had ousted Walter Kwok as its chairman, replacing him with his 79-year-old mother after a high-profile feud at the family-run firm.

"The board announces that Walter Kwok has ceased to be the chairman and chief executive of the company and has been redesignated as a non-executive director," the firm said in a statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Kwong Siu-hing, the widow of the company's former chairman Kwok Tak-seng, will become chairwoman, the company statement said.

The ouster comes the day after Walter Kwok, who has been on leave from the company since February, failed in a last-ditch legal bid to try and prevent the board meeting.

Kwok has accused his brothers Raymond and Thomas, both vice-chairmen and managing directors of the firm, of falsely asserting that he had a mental disorder, court documents showed.

The rift was reportedly caused by Walter's involvement with a female friend whom it was alleged had become increasingly influential on the married tycoon and his firm.

Sun Hung Kai is one of the world's largest property firms, making its fortune by investing in the southern Chinese city's property market before more recently expanding to the mainland. - AFP/ac

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