Hong Kong construction giant becomes Macao casino magnate Lui Che Woo dies at 95

HONG KONG: Casino tycoon Lui Che Woo, who helped Macao eclipse rival Las Vegas, has died at the age of 95, his company said late on Monday (Nov 11).

Lui, chairman of Macau casino company Galaxy Entertainment, died in Hong Kong on November 7, the organization said, adding that his “vision, tremendous leadership and guidance” were the foundation of the group’s development and continued success.

Lui, who is also chairman of K Wah Group, a Hong Kong-listed company, focused on construction and quarry mining before turning to real estate. Lui was widely known in both Hong Kong and Macau as an influential businessman with close ties to the Chinese government.

Lui, one of Hong Kong’s richest men, kept a low profile and was always seen wearing a flat cap while walking around the city and attending press conferences.

A member of China’s national advisory body, the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, Lui had close ties to Beijing and was part of the business delegation that met President Xi Jinping in the Chinese capital in 2014.

Galaxy Entertainment holds one of six coveted gaming licenses granted after Macao liberalized its casino industry in 2002.

Competing with rivals such as the now-deceased Stanley Ho, whose family runs the SJM Holdings casino empire, the late US billionaire Sheldon Adelson and Wynn Resorts founder Steve Wynn, Lui guided Galaxy to become one of Macao’s top operators.

It operates several major casino resorts in Macao, both on the Las Vegas-style Cotai strip and on the busy main peninsula.

EARLY LIFE

Born on August 9, 1929, in Jiangmen city in China’s southern province of Guangdong, Lui moved to Hong Kong with his family at the age of four. During Japan’s occupation of the region in the 1940s, Lui began working in a food production and distribution business at the age of 13.

He later began operating in auto parts, heavy machinery, quarrying and construction materials, according to his 2017 biography.

He turned to real estate investments in the 1960s and added hotels to his business portfolio in the 1980s.

His company, K Wah, has more than 200 subsidiaries worldwide, including in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Southeast Asia.

A prominent philanthropist, Lui supported the development of medical care, education and information technology.

It also offered an annual cash reward of HK$20 million (US$2.57 million) to individuals or organizations that “unselfishly promote world civilization through sustainable development, contributions to the well-being of humanity and promotion of positive life attitude”, according to K Wah.

MACAU EMPIRE

Lui, who is survived by his wife Chiu Kam Ping and five children, remained heavily involved in the casino industry, although he handed over much of the day-to-day running of Galaxy to his son Francis.

As vice president of Galaxy, Francis played a key role in the development of the company’s projects in Macao, where it owns the most land of all operators in the Cotai strip. Lui’s other children are also involved in various parts of the family business around the world.

Galaxy’s Macao properties include large-scale resorts in Cotai, with facilities including the region’s largest indoor arena, which opened last December.

The new Galaxy chairman will be announced “in due course”, the company said, adding that Lui’s death will not have any impact on the group’s operations.