Edmund Ho tells of stake transfer
Macau Chief Executive Edmund Ho Hau-wah said yesterday he had produced documents proving he had disposed of his interest in gaming magnate Stanley Ho Hung-sun's casino empire four years before assuming his current office.
The top official in the world's largest gaming market was responding to a report in Monday's South China Morning Post that revealed a paper trail of corporate filings showing the chief executive and two brothers shared an interest in Stanley Ho's gaming, property and shipping businesses via their 3.3 per cent stake in a Hong Kong firm called Many Town Company Limited.
Edmund Ho yesterday produced documentation showing he transferred his stake in Many Town to his brother Ho Hau-wing on March 28, 1995, in exchange for his brother's shares in their family's Tai Fung Bank, a statement released by the government information bureau said. The transfer documents were not made public, but were submitted to the Court of Final Appeal as an addition to Edmund Ho's declaration of assets, which is also sealed.
Hong Kong corporate filings from 1993 to the present do not reflect the 1995 share swap, and Macau legislators last night continued to express scepticism. 'The questions were still not answered properly and we can't tell if what was said was the truth,' legislator Jose Coutinho said. He called for Edmund Ho to 'release in detail how he inherited, managed and transferred his shares'.
After the 1983 death of their father, Tai Fung Bank founder Ho Yin, Edmund Ho and two brothers were named as administrators of the estate and inherited the Many Town stake, according to Hong Kong corporate filings between 1982 and June this year.
Yesterday's government release said: 'The reason Edmund Ho Hau-wah's name could still be found in relevant documents in the registry authority in Hong Kong was because he was one of the administrators of the estate of his late father. The concepts of being an administrator and a beneficiary of an estate were not the same.'
That appeared to contradict a June 29 filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange by International Entertainment Corporation that stated: 'Many Town Company Limited is beneficially owned by ... the administrators of the estate of the late Mr Ho Yin, namely Mr Ho Hau Wing, Mr Ho Hou Chiu William and Mr Ho Hau Wah Edmund.'
Hong Kong lawyer Wong Kwok-tung said while estate administrators were different from beneficiaries, they overlapped in many cases. He said Edmund Ho should have told the company secretary of Many Town of the inheritance of the shares and subsequent swap in 1995.
Mr Coutinho urged the chief executive to make a full and public declaration of his assets.
