PCCW deputy chairman Linus Cheung Wing-lam said yesterday he will leave the company by the end of this year. The departure of the last remaining member of the former Cable & Wireless HKT management was not unexpected. Mr Cheung, 54, was chief executive of HKT in 2000 when Richard Li Tzar-kai's PCCW and Singapore Telecommunications vied for control of the then-monopoly telecoms carrier, and showed support for Mr Li's takeover proposal. 'I feel it is timely and appropriate that I now turn my sights towards new challenges,' Mr Cheung said in a statement yesterday. PCCW chairman Mr Li praised Mr Cheung's contribution to the PCCW-HKT deal. 'Linus has given generously of his knowledge and skills, and in doing so has helped write an important chapter in the company's history,' he said. However, the PCCW takeover has not produced the financial results it had promised. PCCW has reported losses in two of the past three years, triggering a 93 per cent meltdown in the share price to yesterday's close of HK$5.10. Key members of HKT's management, including Norman Yuen Kay-tong, William Cheung Kam-hung and David Prince, chose to leave PCCW within the first two years of the takeover. Linus Cheung, however, stayed to finish his three-year contract, which is worth more than HK$30 million, including an annual salary of HK$4.8 million and other compensation. Mr Cheung was a chief negotiator for PCCW with the government on telecoms regulation, and had responsibility for the company's Taiwan business. His former deputy at HKT, Norman Yuen, now deputy managing director of Citic Pacific, said yesterday: 'He was the first Chinese CEO in a British company and made a contribution by presiding over changes in the liberalisation process.' The next career move for Mr Cheung, who spent 23 years with Cathay Pacific Airways before joining HKT in 1994, is unknown. 'Only he can tell if this is a golden handshake or a golden handcuff,' a friend said.
