Tycoon Ho Ying-chie, who made his fortune from cigarettes and gave hundreds of millions of dollars to charity, has died aged 89.
Ho, chairman of the Hong Kong Tobacco Company, was believed to have been ill with breathing problems for some months.
He died at the Hong Kong Sanatorium and Hospital in Happy Valley yesterday afternoon.
Ho was most recently in the public eye when he played a key role in the sale of Sing Tao Holdings by former chairman Sally Aw Sian.
Ms Aw was forced to sell her stake in Sing Tao to repay a $247 million loan to Ho. His grandson, Charles Ho Tsu-kwok, is now honorary chairman of Sing Tao Holdings.
Over the past few decades, Ho donated hundreds of millions of dollars to local charities and relief projects on the mainland.