me now in hk , tonight Happy Valley Races, Zac got a few good horses tonight at the Valley,
There are
some HK reports and industry talk about the early career of Fatty , but the details are
not fully documented in official biographies.
Much of it comes from
Hong Kong financial press and gaming-industry discussions.
Here is the
generally described background.
1. Early career in the gaming/junket business
In the
1970s–1980s, he was said to have worked in the
casino junket trade in Southeast Asia, particularly in .
A
casino junket operator typically:
- recruits wealthy gamblers from Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia
- arranges travel, credit, accommodation, and VIP rooms
- receives a commission based on the gambling turnover
At that time:
- Macau’s casino industry was dominated by through (STDM).
- Many Chinese junket operators also ran operations in other Asian casinos.
Industry sources say he was
a small-scale junket promoter, bringing players to casinos in the Philippines before moving into bigger ventures.
2. Expansion into shipping and cruise casinos
Later he became involved in
floating casino ships in Asia.
One notable venture linked historically with his business group was:
This ship operated as a
casino cruise vessel sailing in Asian waters, targeting gamblers from
Hong Kong and Taiwan.
The idea was simple:
- Ship sails into international waters
- Gambling becomes legal
- High-rollers play in VIP rooms operated by junket promoters
This was quite common before the modern casino boom in Asia.
3. Transition to listed company business
By the
1990s, he began restructuring his businesses into corporate form.
This eventually became the listed company:
The group gradually
moved away from gaming and focused on:
- money lending
- property investment
- securities trading
4. Family-controlled business
Today the company is largely
controlled by the the family, through offshore holding companies.
he himself is now
around 80 years old and mostly
no longer involved in day-to-day management.
In simple terms:
Many Hong Kong financiers from that generation started in the
casino junket trade, which could generate large cash flow quickly.
He appears to have followed a similar path.
junket promoter → casino cruise ventures → property & finance group.