Dr Stanley Ho, best known as the godfather of Macau’s gaming industry, has retired as Group Executive Chairman and Executive Director of Hong Kong’s Shun Tak Holdings Ltd.
In a Friday filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Shun Tak announced that Dr Ho, 95, did not seek re-election at the Annual General Meeting, with his retirement coming into effect from the conclusion of the AGM.
However, the group revealed that in recognition of his 44 years of service, Dr Ho would be granted the honorary title of Chairman Emeritus.
“The Board would like to take this opportunity to express its deepest gratitude to Dr Ho for his visionary leadership in founding the Company, building the solid foundation upon which the Company thrives and staying the course for more than four decades,” it said.
Dr Ho’s position will now be filled by his daughter, Ms Pansy Ho, following her appointment as Group Executive Chairman at Friday’s AGM.
Ms Ho, who joined the group as an executive director in 1995 and was appointed Managing Director in 1999, is also Chairman of the executive committee, a member of the remuneration committee and nomination committee and a director of a number of subsidiaries of the Company.
She is Chairman, CEO and a director of Shun Tak – China Travel Shipping Investments Limited and is directly in charge of the group’s shipping business. Ms Ho is also Chairman of Macau Tower Convention & Entertainment Centre, an executive director of Air Macau Company Limited and Vice Chairman of the board of directors of Macau International Airport Co Ltd.
Perhaps most notably, she is co-Chairperson and an executive director of MGM China Holdings Limited and an independent non-executive director of Sing Tao News Corporation Limited.
Shun Tak’s filing said Ms Ho will be entitled to annual remuneration of HK$50,000 per annum for being a director of the company and HK$60,000 per annum for being a director of a subsidiary of the company. She will also be entitled to receive a monthly salary of HK$802,837 and a discretionary bonus under her employment contract with the group.
It added that, “Dr Ho will not be a director or an officer of the Company nor will he receive any remuneration for the position of Chairman Emeritus.”
Dr Ho remains Chairman of SJM Holdings, the holding company of Macau concessionaire Sociedade de Jogos de Macau SA, however his retirement from Shun Tak Holdings will only increase speculation over his future role overseeing SJM’s Macau gaming empire.
