Hong Kong's Thomas Edison shows his smarts
Smart Rich Energy Finance (Holdings) chairman Nelson Wong Kam-fu, who claims to have 468 patents for his various inventions, was thrust into the spotlight when Star Paging Communications, which he founded 30 years ago, launched the world's first Chinese-language pager.
The man, who in 1996 was a member of the 400-member Selection Committee that elected the 60-member Provisional Legislative Council and Tung Chee-hwa as the SAR's first chief executive, prides himself as 'Hong Kong's Thomas Edison' and is now trying to find a purpose for his listed vehicle.
In 1978, Mr Wong and his wife Chu Wai-fun founded Star Paging Communications and later launched the first Chinese pager and also the fastest pager, which guaranteed response to calls within eight seconds.
Mr Wong went about rapidly expanding his pager kingdom through acquisitions, eventually becoming chairman of main board-listed Star Telecom.
As pagers were gradually replaced by mobile phones, Mr Wong turned his attention to the mainland's mobile phone sector. But in 1992, changes in the country's telecommunications policy saw him facing financial difficulties. He then sold his entire his stake in Star Telecom.
In December 2000, Mr Wong bought a controlling stake in struggling Chung Hwa Development Holdings for HK$55 million, renamed it Star Cyberpower Holdings, and used it as a platform for his its portal, Star Cyber.com.
But his short-lived e-dream quickly faded with the bursting of the technology bubble.
The flagging Star Cyberpower was then renamed Star Bio-Tech Holdings and began operating a biochemical business and producing drugs for weight loss and diseases such as cancer and rheumatoid arthritis. But regulatory challenges stopped the company from selling its products.
In April 2002, Mr Wong again changed the company's name to Credit Card DNA Security System (Holdings), and then again last year to Smart Rich Energy Finance (Holdings), which focuses on developing computer software for stock market investors.
Mr Wong said the company had spent US$2 million in developing a software suite that he claimed can help users analyse financial data and choose stocks with an 80 per cent chance of return.
Smart Rich Energy recorded a net loss of HK$18.3 million in the six months to December 2006, compared with a loss of HK$19.8 million a year before.
Innovation and insight
Nelson Wong has dabbled in technology, health and finance
Number of patents the Hong Kong inventor says he has received to date: 468
