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SCMP Reporter

IT'S amazing what strange connections can exist for ages without anyone noticing them.

For instance, we never knew that one of the directors of one of Stanley Ho's companies is married to Secretary of Security Alistair Asprey.

Christine Asprey has been a non-executive director of Lafe International Holdings for over a year, and Lafe is part of Stanley's industrial empire.

Although Stanley himself announced in the summer he was quitting the board, he's still a major shareholder and sat on the board at the same time as Christine.

We never realised this oddball link until we chatted to Christine yesterday about her new appointment to the board of Silver Eagle and Capetronic - two more companies under the same corporate umbrella.

So now she's on the board of three firms in which Stanley Ho has a substantial interest.

Christine fails the test of being a blank-minded expat wife on both counts. She's a market research specialist with quite a few letters after her name.

'My work and my husband's work are totally different. I don't ask him questions and he doesn't ask me any,' she said.

These firms' businesses include computer parts, shoes and chocolates.

We've tried to concoct a conspiracy theory about chocolates and the territory's security . . . but failed.

Late take-off HERE'S a bad sign for those who were rather hoping the airport would be finished on time, by 1997.

  As of Wednesday, the Provisional Airport Authority was still sending out Christmas cards.

Strange customs THAT article about Victor Hwang Yiou-hwa and Cluff Oil yesterday will have reminded quite a few people that Victor's family owns one of London's most bizarre landmarks, Battersea Power Station.

  Unfortunately, everyone gets reminded of this industrial boondoggle every time they see any of the Hwang family, and it's getting to be a pain for its members.

  On his last trip to Britain, Victor turned up at Heathrow airport and the dialogue went like this:   Customs: 'Purpose of visit?'   Victor: 'Business.'   Customs (sceptical): 'What kind of business.'   Victor: 'Property development.'   Customs: 'Oh yeah? What do you own?'   Victor: 'Actually, I own Battersea power station.'   Customs: 'Ooooh. What's happening to that? You know I remember the days when . . .'   For the record, Victor claims that nothing at all is happening to the station because the whole mess is in the courts.

Gloss THE Hong Kong Management Association yesterday announced the results of its best annual reports award. Perhaps it should look for the worst, too. One contender might be Hong Kong Macau, whose annual report mentioned a $11.5 million sum as 'charitable donations'.

  Later, it emerged that its definition of 'charities' over the past few years has included such deserving bodies as local governments in Guangdong province where Hong Kong Macau just happens to have received permission for a major property development.

  There are plenty of companies which said as little as possible.

  Vying hard among these would be the banks.

  With the exception of HSBC Holdings and Hang Seng Bank, they make it easy for themselves to put glossy shots of the management in the annual report by missing out all the important information about their inner reserves.

  Plenty of companies drastically downplay the more noteworthy events of their year.

  For instance, Shun Tak's annual report somehow forgot to mention in its review that its offices had been searched by Asia's Finest, as had the home of its chairman.

  A further example is IHD Holdings. This document, with a rather fetching pink cover, had a review of the year which omitted to mention that its chief executive got five years for, among other things, conspiracy to defraud IHD of $127.6 million - unless that's covered in the bit where directors are thanked 'for their past contribution and loyal service to the company'.

Con-ference THERE'S a real highbrow conference on China property development taking place next month in Singapore, full of intricate stuff about tax laws and land use and much of the same.

    It all sounds pretty scientific in the brochure.

  But peer carefully and it's possible to see a giant full page fung shui chart in light ink behind the text.

  China property development certainly doesn't look as scientific as it's making out.



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