Video-on-demand pioneer William Lo has left Citibank Hong Kong and is reportedly negotiating to buy a large stake in consumer electronics manufacturer Cybersonic Technology.
Mr Lo plans to transform the SAR-listed Cybersonic into an Internet investment company, according to the reports.
Chinese-language media has reported that Hubert Ng, who resigned last week as chief executive of mobile phone operator SmarTone Telecommunications, was joining Mr Lo at a revamped Cybersonic, which would buy stakes in Internet and e-commerce startups and 'incubate' them, similar to Softbank or CMGI.
Citibank last week confirmed that Mr Lo had left his position as chief executive of global consumer banking. Mr Lo was unavailable for comment, as was Mr Ng. Mr Lo is already a director at Cybersonic, which changed its name from Silver Eagle Holdings in January last year.
As Silver Eagle Holdings, the shoe and VCD-maker languished with little investor interest. But when a local fever in tech stocks and so-called 'dot-com' companies hit in April this year, the stock price of the loss-making Cybersonic increased fivefold, from 24 cents a per share to a high of $1.23.
Mr Lo and his financial backers, an unnamed US company, want to pay about 30 cents per share - a significant discount on last week's closing price of 92 cents per share, reported the Hongkong Economic Journal.