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HK tycoon Fok to sell stake in Macau casinos
2002-04-02
HONG KONG - Hong Kong tycoon Henry Fok, an ally of communist China, is selling his stake in the billion-dollar gaming industry in the enclave of Macau, a former Portuguese colony, according to aides. "He wants to donate all the proceeds of his stake into a new foundation in Macau. He wants to use the money to develop Macau," a Fok aide told Reuters on Tuesday. Fok, 78, holds a 27 percent stake in the Sociedade de Turismo e Diversoes de Macau (STDM), the Macau gambling monoply. He has held that stake since 1962. Until March, STDM, run by flamboyant Macau gambling king Stanley Ho, had a monopoly on gambling in the city, including its highly lucrative casino business. Forbes magazine estimated that Fok, who is on the Standing Committee of China's parliament, had a personal fortune of US$1 billion. An avid tennis player, Fok is often portrayed as the man whose backing ensured former shipping tycoon Tung Chee-hwa would be the leader of Hong Kong after Britain returned the former colony to China in 1997. He made his fortune from the sand business, and in 1961, he bankrolled Ho HK$400,000 (US$51,282) to help make up the HK$1 million minimum bid for the Macau gaming monopoly. Ho won the tender in 1962 and his STDM monopoly has brought in gross revenues of some US$2 billion a year in recent years. The monopoly ended last month and a unit of STDM now shares Macau's casino business with two other concessionaires -- companies controlled by U.S. gambling moguls Steve Wynn and Sheldon Adelson. Fok said in a statement that he was now talking to other shareholders in STDM and hoped to sell his stake as soon as possible. When Fok tried to sell his stake in 1986, it was valued at HK$600 million, but the plan fell through. (US$ - HK$7.8) (Reuters)
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