Chao Kuang Piu

Chao Kuang Piu SBS (24 November 1920 – 12 March 2021) was a Hong Kong–based Chinese industrialist, sometimes referred to as Hong Kong's "Wool Magnate" given his involvement in Hong Kong's garment industry. He was one of the co-founders of Dragonair, Hong Kong's first Chinese-owned airline, which was subsequently acquired by Cathay Pacific.[1]

Chao was a recipient of Hong Kong's Silver Bauhinia Star award in 2002.

Biography

Chao was born on 24 November 1920 in Shanghai.[2] His father was a successful businessman in Shanghai. The family traced its ancestry to Ningbo in the Zhejiang province in China.[3] At the age of 17, he had to quit studies when his mother died and his father was critically ill.[4]

In 1950, Chao went to British Hong Kong to set up his business by importing wool-spinning equipment from England and starting his wool-spinning factory.[4] He set up the garment manufacturing and trading company Novel Enterprises in 1964.[3] His career has been noted for growing the then nascent Hong Kong textile industry.[5] He expanded his operations overseas into France, Germany, Portugal and the United States through the 1970s. His companies emerged as one of the world's largest wool enterprises.[3] Chao was one of the first few investors in Mainland China, setting up spinning mills, when the Chinese Economic Reforms led by Deng Xiaoping started in late 1970s.[3] He was referred to as "Wool magnate" or "King of Cotton Yarn" given his success in the industry.[6][3][7]

Chao was a co-founder of Dragonair airlines in 1985, with shipping magnate Pao Yue-Kong and Hong Kong–based businessman Henry Fok, along with investments from China Merchants Group and China Resources. The carrier was Hong Kong's first Chinese-owned airline.[3] The company was subsequently sold to Hong Kong's flag carrier Cathay Pacific in 2006.[6] The carrier was subsequently renamed Cathay Dragon in 2016, and ended operations in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.[3]

Chao was the honorary chairman of the Wharton School's Global Alumni Forum in Hong Kong. He was also the Chairman of Novel Enterprises Ltd.[8] Some of his other positions included being the chairman of the Board of Novel Enterprises, chairman of Dragonair and member of the Hong Kong Consultative & Selection Committee. He was also the honorary consul of the Republic of Mauritius in Hong Kong.[6] He served as an academic advisor to the universities of Tsinghua and Ningbo, and was an honorary professor at Zhejiang University.[2][9]

Personal life

Chao's daughter, Susana Chou, is the first President of the Legislative Assembly of Macau, Macau SAR, while his son Silas K. F. Chou, is a director of Novel Enterprises which owned Tommy Hilfiger and Michael Kors.[2] His granddaughter is socialite Veronica Chou.[10] Chao's eldest son, Ronald Kee-Young Chao (曹其鏞, born 1939), is also a director of Novel Enterprises and founded the Bai Xian Scholarship program in Hong Kong.[11][12]

Chao died on 12 March 2021 at the Hong Kong Adventist Hospital – Tsuen Wan in Hong Kong. He was aged 100.[3][4][6]

Honors and awards

• The Asteroid 4566 Chao Kuang Piu was named after him by the Purple Mountain Observatory[4]
• Silver Bauhinia Star by the Hong Kong government in 2002[2]
• Wharton School Dean's Medal, awarded by the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania[2]

See also

• Chao Kuang Piu High-tech Development Fund

External links

• Biography of Kuang Piu (K.P.) Chao
• Welcome from the Honorary Chairman