'Ho-ho-ho!' for Stanley's wife

Casino magnate Stanley Ho’s wife, Angela Leong (no relation to DraftFCB’s CEO Arnold Liong) received close to HK$15 billion worth of shares when the casino magnate let her take over the operations of Soceidade de Jogos de Macau or SJM Holdings with her appointment as managing director. The ailing 89-year-old billionaire sustained a head injury in 2009 after an accident at home, from which he is still recovering. Ho has 17 children from different women. His current wife Angela (a Macau lawmaker) is his fourth. With her appointment as managing director, Ho reduced seven percent of his SJM shares and transferred it to Leong, who announced plans to develop a $1.3-billion resort and theme park in Macau.

Although she downplayed her appointment as SJM managing director calling it a “normal procedure” since it would be inconvenient for Ho to keep traveling from Hong Kong to Macau and back, business observers are convinced Angela is now the unquestioned successor to Ho’s vast empire that includes interests in real estate and property, transport and retail. It was undoubtedly the best Christmas gift ever for Angela who may be singing “Ho ho ho!” all the way to the bank. Earlier, the “King of Gambling” transferred 11.5 percent of his stake in Shun Tak Holdings (a property and shipping firm) to Hanika Realty controlled by the five children of Lucina Laam King-ying, Ho’s second wife.

For 40 years, the casino king had a monopoly on Macau’s gaming licenses but this ended in 2002 when the Macau government opened up gaming licenses to other casino outfits. Nevertheless, SJM (whose worth is estimated at $13.5 billion) continues to control 21 out of the 34 casinos in the former Portuguese colony.

Chinese fortune on wheels

Hong Kong may pride itself as the top raiser of IPO funds with a record HK$440 billion raised in 2010, but that kind of fortune is nothing compared to the amount spent by mainland China to maintain a fleet of cars for its bureaucrats. Of the estimated 50 million cars in China, five million of them belong to officials who use them for their business trips, with fuel costs, salaries for drivers and other maintenance costs alone averaging 60,000 to 80,000 yuan.

Luxury car makers are having a heyday in China with skyrocketing sales fueled by demands from the super rich and the newly-rich all wanting to have their Rolls Royces, BMWs, Mercedes Benzes and Audis. Audi in particular has had a head start over competitors, having been the only foreign car brand on the Chinese government’s list from 1989 until mid-2009. While the Mercedes and the BMW have been added to the list of “approved” official cars for bureaucrats, the A6 is still the undisputed favorite among VIPs, the business elite and high-powered government officials and in fact is considered as the “official car” in China. More than one million units of the Volkswagen AG’s premier brand have been sold, with executives aiming to sell one million more cars in the next three years with plans to build a new plant in the country since China seems to have replaced Germany as Audi’s biggest car market for 2011.

And since the millionaires and VIPs refuse to walk and prefer going around in their luxury vehicles – this adds up to the monstrous traffic due to clogged major arteries, which is why authorities in the capital city of Beijing have limited the number of new cars to just 240,000 for the year.   

Joey Concepcion’s newest business venture

Businessman Joey Concepcion of GoNegosyo fame bought a 30-year-old yacht from the Guerrero family and had it completely refurbished at a Subic shipyard. Always looking for anything to help the Philippine economy, Joey made sure the materials used would be sourced out from the Philippines as much as possible, with the “new” luxury yacht now targeted for chartering high-end tourists to various destinations in the country which many believe are ready for high end visitors. The young business entrepreneur is also into chartering helicopters in partnership with “Willing Willie” Revillame who by the way was a guest at Joey’s New Year lunch in Punta Fuego along with (soon-to-be bride?) Shalani Soledad.

Spy tidbit

– Spy Bits spotted in Hong Kong a number of prominent Filipinos trying to escape the noise and air pollution of Manila and enjoying the cool weather, although Hong Kong’s smog is far worse than Manila’s. Those who were in the former British colony were consumer advocate Ronnie Concepcion with his wife Menchu and their family; Irene Martel Francisco of Tatler magazine; Mar Roxas and Korina Sanchez with Araneta clan matriarch Judy Araneta Roxas; business tycoon Manny Pangilinan, Bong Sta. Maria and Smart’s Doy Vea with his family; former BIR chief Ducky Fonacier; businessman Ricky Delgado and his family; Mayie Delgado with his wife Suzie; Congressman Ronnie Zamora; Special Ambassador to the Gulf Cooperation Council Amable Aguiluz; Pancake House king Martin Lorenzo and his entire brood of 12 children and businessman Eric Tagle with his wife.

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