Hong Kong Businesswoman Loses Three-Quarter of Her Fortune

Hong Kong-based billionaire entrepreneur, Pollyanna Chu, slipped down the list of the wealthiest in Asia as she lost 73% of her wealth in the last couple of months. Chu had built up her net worth from her large-scale investments in the VIP gaming parlors of Macau and through margin financing.

 

The Chief Executive Officer of Kingston Financial Group’s financial services and the chief of the famous Macau-based VIP junket operator Golden Resorts Group, Chu has emerged as one of the most influential entrepreneurs across Hong Kong. According to the data published by Thomson Reuters, the 60-year-old businesswoman’s stake in the Kingston Financial Group has plummeted from $9.7 billion (in 2017) to $2.6 billion this year.

 

Chu had founded the Kingston Group in partnership with her husband way back in 1992. Although the company possessed a sizeable net worth of $13.01 billion until last year, its market value rapidly dropped 73.3 % down to a shocking $3.47 billion last week. The report further notified about a warning that had been issued by the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong regarding as much as 91 percent of the Kingston Group being controlled solely by a group of 20 shareholders. Chu’s stake in the Kingston Group began plummeting right after the warning was released at the starting of this year in January.

 

Both Chu and her husband have been refusing to take any calls or provide any statements regarding the sudden loss of their fortune within a matter of months. Chu comes from a family that has been actively involved in the junket industry of Macau for more than twenty years.

 

Chu’s father and a veteran in the gambling industry, Wai Man Lee, has been credited with setting up a high roller room in Stanley Ho’s Casino Lisboa. As such, her family’s close relations with the local casino Moghul Ho have helped Chu cement Kingston Group’s position in the Macau market for many years.

 

The Kingston Group owns the premier hotels Grandview and Casa Real and runs a major chunk of its operations through Stanley Ho’s popular brand SJM Holdings. It has been registering massive revenues in the past. However, the company’s latest annual report revealed that it was faced with stiff competition from its rivals in the world’s leading casino hub, which resulted in a 4% year-on-year dip in its gaming revenues.