Tycoon offers HK$500m bounty to find husband for gay daughter

Wanted: kind, generous man to marry tycoon's daughter. Must be talented with a good heart.

HK$500 million reward for the successful applicant.

That's the bounty property developer Cecil Chao Sze-tsung is offering for the right man to marry his daughter, Gigi Chao. There's just one catch - she revealed her same-sex marriage last week.

Rejecting suggestions Gigi, 33, is a lesbian and describing news of her union as "false reports by newspapers", the 76-year-old owner of Cheuk Nang (Holdings) said the offer was "an inducement to attract someone who has the talent but not the capital to start his own business".

Gigi was quoted last week as saying that she married Sean Eav, her female partner of seven years, in France on April 4. Same-sex marriage is not legally recognised in Hong Kong, although France has civil unions.

"I don't mind whether he is rich or poor. The important thing is that he is generous and kind-hearted," the playboy tycoon said of the man he is seeking for his daughter.

"Gigi is a very good woman with both talents and looks. She is devoted to her parents, is generous and does volunteer work."

Asked if the plan would upset his daughter, Chao said he would not force a marriage if she did not like the prospective groom.

Gigi is the eldest of three children fathered by Chao, who claims to have had 10,000 girlfriends but has never wed.

He made his remarks yesterday after issuing a statement on Monday saying his daughter was still single. Gigi could not be reached for comment last night.