Adviser to late tycoon Fok launches another libel suit
Ho Ming-sze, the long-time adviser to late tycoon Henry Fok Ying-tung, has sued another former colleague for libel, the latest chapter in a bitter legal saga that has enveloped Fok's company. Mr Ho claims Edward Lam Sik-lau, the former general manager of Fok Ying Tung Ming Yuan Development Company, penned or circulated several letters cataloguing Mr Ho's alleged misdeeds, including nepotism and theft, at the company. Mr Lam claimed he was sacked this summer to stifle his revelation that Mr Ho had destroyed the firm's finances by racking up HK$100 million in annual losses, said the writ filed in the High Court this week. The firm was set up to realise Fok's dream of creating a miniature Hong Kong in the Pearl River Delta, a delay-plagued project known as Little Nansha. Mr Ho's lawsuit comes less than two months after he sued Manson Fok, one of the tycoon's sons and a company director, for allegedly writing a letter that compared him to some of the most reviled figures in Chinese history, including the notorious Gang of Four and the Dowager Empress Cixi.
Taiwan firms to be invited to join Asian financial forum
The newly established Taipei Office of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council will invite Taiwanese companies to join the Asian Financial Forum in Hong Kong as one of its key initiatives. A Legislative Council paper submitted by the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau said the office, which commenced operation late last year, would organise business missions to Taiwan and invite leaders in the Taiwanese real estate and infrastructure sectors to the city. It would also invite Taiwanese film industry representatives to attend the Filmart (the Hong Kong International Film and TV Market) in Hong Kong and promote the city's exhibition industry through seminars. According to the plan the office would also organise a Hong Kong information technology mission to showcase its products in the Computex computer show in Taiwan. It also planned to launch a joint promotion with Taiwanese agencies to promote consumer products in a number of mainland cities.