For Hong Kong property developer Tony Yau Tang-tit, being the brother of a senior government official can have its drawbacks.
This was certainly the case last year when Common Empire Development, of which he is an executive director, was in the spotlight over accusations that it benefited from possible advance information about a government plan to revitalise the city's industrial property market.
Since Tony Yau is the younger brother of Secretary for Environment Edward Yau Tang-wah, critics questioned a purchase the company made before Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen's announcement, in his October policy address, that 1,000 industrial buildings would be revitalised.
A week later, the environment minister was forced to issue a public statement saying his brother's firm had completed the purchase a year before the policy speech and could not have known about the government's plans.
Tony Yau, who said he had no shares in Common Empire, had strenuously denied the allegations, adding that the issue had been politicised. He said it had not upset him or affected his relationship with his brother.
Meanwhile, Common Empire is continuing its acquisition spree in a bid to build up a portfolio of hotel properties and serviced apartments.