Phoenix TV boss Liu named Business Person of the Year

DHL and the South China Morning Post announced the winners of the 23rd Hong Kong Business Awards last night, showcasing business leaders and companies successfully coping with the still stormy global economic environment.

Media executive Liu Changle was named Business Person of the Year. Liu is the chairman and chief executive of Phoenix Satellite Television Holdings. He is a Shanghai-born former colonel in the People's Liberation Army with strong ties to senior Communist Party officials.

Liu set up Phoenix Television in 1996 as a joint venture with media baron Rupert Murdoch. The Hong Kong-listed broadcaster last year added a Cantonese television channel in Hong Kong in addition to its five channels in Putonghua. It also wants to expand into English broadcasting.

The Executive Award was won by Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) chief executive Benjamin Hung Pi-cheng.

Hung led the bank in responding to its customers' demand for yuan business services and developed a branch network tailored to wealthy mainlanders. The venerable lender has created a presence for itself in upmarket retail areas such as Canton Road and Nathan Road in Tsim Sha Tsui and hot spots such as the nightlife mecca of Lan Kwai Fong in Central.

The Owner-Operator Award went to Ovolo Group chief executive Girish Jhunjhnuwala. Ovolo owns and operates four hotels and two serviced apartments in Hong Kong. Earlier this year, it expanded into Melbourne in its first overseas venture.