Tsang's pals also friends with Tang
Little was known about Wong Cho-bau before he offered a bargain lease on a luxury flat to Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen, but the mainland billionaire dubbed 'Shenzhen's Li Ka-shing' has stakes in many businesses - and deep connections in Hong Kong.
Tycoons identified as helping Tsang with private jet and yacht travel in return for the market price of a ticket also have strong Hong Kong links - and some are firm supporters of another politician, chief executive hopeful Henry Tang Ying-yen.
Wong established the Shenzhen East Pacific Group in 1994, which has grown to include aviation and property interests such as East Pacific Garden, which will become Tsang's home when he leaves office.
Wong, 55, later became a non-executive director of Sino Hotels and Land and owns 20 per cent of the Digital Broadcasting Company (DBC), set up by Albert Cheng King-hon, considered a close friend of Tsang.
Wong is a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and a Tang supporter. Wong and Sino chairman Robert Ng Chee Siong were among 378 election committee members to sign the former chief secretary's nomination papers.
Last month, the powers of the Chief Executive in Council - indicating a joint decision by Tsang and the Executive Council - were used to approve Arthur Li Kwok-cheung as chairman of the DBC, despite his brother David Li Kwok-po being a director of PCCW.
But Cheng dismisses any claim of a conflict of interest as 'ridiculous'. 'No one else wanted the digital broadcasting licence and [the decision] was approved after vetting by the Broadcasting Authority - the Exco was just a formality,' Cheng said. Dismissing ideas that his or Wong's influence would affect government policy, he said: 'There are a lot of directors of the DBC who have close links with Tsang - [Exco convenor] Ronald Arculli, Arthur Li, to name a few.'
In 2008, Tsang also appointed Wong as a justice of the peace.
Meanwhile, the private jet that flew Tsang and his wife back from Phuket on February 9 is reportedly owned by another mainland tycoon with strong interests in Hong Kong, billionaire Cheung Chung Kiu.
Cheung is chairman of Cross-Harbour Holdings, which owns 50 per cent of the Western Harbour Tunnel Company and 39.5 per cent of the Tate's Cairn Tunnel Company.
Tsang said earlier that the 48-year-old had been a friend for years, but his office did not reply to questions over whether he reported the friendship in talks on the tunnel tolls.
Tsang said he had reimbursed his friend for the ride on the HK$300 million private jet by paying him the price of economy class tickets.
He said he repaid owners of yachts he and his wife sailed on during their grave-sweeping trip to Macau last weekend on the same basis.
The owner of one of the boats, Thomas Lau Luen-hung, is the younger brother of another tycoon who nominated Tang for chief executive, China Estates Holdings chairman Joseph Lau Luen-hung. Joseph Lau's son, Lau Ming-wai, is a member of Tang's campaign team.
