CHAIRMAN
Chow Tai Fook
POWER SCORE: 797
POSITION LAST YEAR: 36
CLAIMS TO FAME
- Majority partner in Vietnam’s Hoiana integrated resort with Suncity Group and VinaCapital
- Inherited father Cheng Yu-tung’s 10% of SJM Holdings parent STDM
- Strategic partner of Australia’s Star Entertainment Group with a 4.99% stake
- Acquired Baha Mar, largest resort in the Caribbean, from Chinese state creditors
Since taking stewardship of his father Cheng Yu-tung’s Chow Tai Fook and New World empires on behalf of the family, Henry Cheng has tried expanding to get a bigger piece of the gaming pie. Five years ago his initiative started paying off.
In 1982, Cheng Yu-tung bought a 10% share of STDM, Stanley Ho’s Macau casino monopoly, originally held by former Shanghai casino boss Yip Hon. Yip and Ho had a falling out, and Cheng stepped in to help his fellow Hong Kong tycoon.
When Macau liberalized gaming, New World bid unsuccessfully for a license. It expressed interest in Singapore’s IR contest, but didn’t get further. A bid to buy Macau’s top junket promoter Suncity Group fizzled.
In 2015, family investment vehicle Chow Tai Fook Enterprises – named for its flagship jewelry retailer – took a majority stake in the dormant central Vietnam integrated resort project that Genting had abandoned. Now called Hoiana, the IR features minority owner Suncity running gaming and the Chengs’ Rosewood brand operating lodging.
For the full list of 2020 Asian Gaming Power 50 winners, click here.
