Dr Lui Che Woo was born in Jiangmen, China in 1929. He established the first K. Wah company in Hong Kong in the 1950s. He is currently Chairman of K. Wah Group. Its major member companies include K. Wah International Holdings Limited (Stock code: 173.HK), Galaxy Entertainment Group Limited (Stock code: 27.HK), Stanford Hotels International Limited and K. Wah Construction Materials Limited. Today, K. Wah has developed into a multi-national conglomerate involving properties, entertainment & leisure, construction materials and hotels with over 200 subsidiaries and more than 20,000 employees in Hong Kong, Mainland China, Macau, North America and Southeast Asia.
Dr Lui is a pioneer in Hong Kong construction materials industry. In the 1960s, he embarked on property investments. In the 1980s, he set his sights on hotel development. In the 1990s, Dr Lui expanded his business into Mainland China. In 2002, he ventured into Macau’s gaming business and is now one of the six gaming concessionaries in Macau where he aims at developing world class travel, leisure, shopping, meeting, convention, exhibition and entertainment facilities.
A distinguished philanthropist, Dr Lui has been particularly supportive of the development of medical care and education. He was Chairman of the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals in 1981-2. In 1999, Dr Lui provided funds for the Stanford University Medical Centre to set up Lui Che Woo Research Laboratory. He also holds important posts in various tertiary institutions including Founding Honorary President of the University of Hong Kong Foundation of Educational Development and Research, Member of the Board of Trustees of United College of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Honorary Member of the Court of Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Member of the Consultative Committee of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Honorary Dean of Business Faculty of Yangzhou University, and Member of the Board of Directors of Fudan University. In 2002, the Dr Lui Che Woo Awards for CUHK/Cornell Student Exchange Programme in Hospitality Management was established to facilitate academic exchanges of the School of Hotel and Tourism Management. In 2005, an initiative in support of the reconstruction and refurbishment of 150 schools in underpriviledged regions acrossed the Mainland was commited through The Ministry of Education. In 2006, a fund was set up at the School of Hotel and Tourism Management of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University for academic research and scholarship for outstanding students. In 2008, a donation was pledged in support of the renovation and expansion of a centenary building at Fudan University.
In recognition of his exemplary contributions to the community, Dr Lui was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire by The Queen (MBE) in 1982 and was appointed as a Justice of the Peace (JP) in 1986. In 1995, an asteroid discovered by the Purple Mountain Observatory in Nanjing was named “Lui Che Woo Star”. Dr Lui was also awarded the degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa by the University of Victoria in 2001; the degree of Doctor of Social Science, honoris causa, by the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2002; an Honorary University Fellowship by the University of Hong Kong in 2002; the degree of Honorary Doctor of Laws by Concordia University in 2004, and the degree of Doctor of Business Administration, honoris causa, by the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. In addition, Dr Lui was awarded the Gold Bauhinia Star (GBS) in 2005. In 2007, he was honoured as the Business Person of the Year in DHL/SCMP Hong Kong Business Awards and presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award by American Academy of Hospitality Sciences.
As a good citizen, Dr Lui was elected for the Hotel Subsector of the Election Committee for the Third Term Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in December 2006. Dr Lui is to represent the Hotel Subsector to elect the Third Term Chief Executive in March 2007. He has also been appointed as Member of Steering Committee on MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions) since 2007.
Public Services
Mainland China
- Honorary President of Jiangmen Association of Enterprises with Foreign Investment
- Chairman of the Board of Directors of Wuyi University, Jiangmen
- The Advisor of China Foundation for Justice and Courage
- Honorary Dean of Business Faculty, Yangzhou University
- Honorary Principal of Lu Jinquan School
- Member of the 9th Standing Committee of Jiangmen
- Honorary President of Guangzhou City Overseas Foreign Affairs Association
- Advisor of Guangdong and Hong Kong – Macau, Economic & Technology Cooperation Promotion Association
- Honorary Vice President of Guangzhou Education Foundation
- Member of the Board of Directors of Fudan University, Shanghai
- Honorary Chancellor of Material Science and Engineering College of South China University of Technology
- Honorary Advisor of Jiangmen Wuyi Foreign Business Union
- Honorary President of Jiangmen (Wuyi) Chinese Culture Research Association
- Executive Director of Guangzhou Education Foundation
- Honorary Director of Shanghai Xuhui District Foreign Corporation Investment Association
Hong Kong
- Member of the Steering Committee on MICE
- Vice President of the Hong Kong Culture Association
- Advisor of The San Wui Commercial Society of Hong Kong
- Honorary Advisor of Lions Club of Victoria Hong Kong
- Honorary President of Hong Kong - Shanghai Economic Development Association
- Member of Election Committee Hotel Subsector for Legislative Council
- Member of Election Committee of SAR 9th National People’s Congress
- Chairman of China Association (H.K.) for Science and Society
- Selection Committee Member for the First Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
- Founding President of Hong Kong - Guangdong Economic Development Association
- Honorary President of The San Wui Commercial Society of Hong Kong
- Founding Chairman of The Federation of Hong Kong Hotel Owners
- President of Tsim Sha Tsui East Property Developers Association
- Chairman of Tung Wah Group of Hospitals
Honours
- Business Person of the Year in DHL/SCMP Hong Kong Busienss Awards
- Lifetime Achievement Award by American Academy of Hospitality Sciences
- Gold Bauhinia Star
- Doctor of Business Administration, honoris causa, by the Hong Kong Polytechnic University
- Degree of Honorary Doctor of Laws, by Concordia University, Canada
- Doctor of Social Science, honoris causa, by the Chinese University of Hong Kong
- Honorary University Fellowship, by the University of Hong Kong
- Degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, by the University of Victoria, Canada
- Committee Member of the 9th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference
- Outstanding Contribution Award in Guangzhou
- Naming of 'Lui Che Woo Star' Asteroid No. 5538 (Discovered by Purple Mountain Observatory in Nanjing)
- Citizen of Honor (Nanjing)
- Standing Committee Member of People's Political Consultative Conference, Jiangmen
- Citizen of Honor (Guangzhou)
- Citizen of Honor (Jiangmen)
- Justice of The Peace
- Member of The Order of The British Empire
References
[1] About Chairman - K. Wah Group Website