A family squabble for one of Asia’s greatest fortunes burst into the open yesterday as lawyers and relatives of Stanley Ho, the Macao casino tycoon, argued over the validity of a controversial share transfer.
作为亚洲最富有的家族之一，澳门赌王何鸿燊(Stanley Ho)的财产纷争昨日公开化，他的律师和家人针对一宗有争议股份转移的有效性展开了争论。
SJM Holdings, Mr Ho’s casino flagship, said this week that the tycoon had transferred his 32 per cent stake in SJM’s parent company, Sociedade de Turismo de Macau, to the third of his four wives and also to the five children from his second marriage. Mr Ho, who is 89 and in poor health, has had at least 16 children by four wives, setting the stage for a potentially rancorous inheritance battle.
赌王的旗舰企业——澳门博彩控股(SJM Holdings)本周宣布，何鸿燊已将自己在澳博母公司——澳门旅游娱乐有限公司(Sociedade de Turismo de Macau)的32%股份，转移给他四位太太中的第三位，以及他二太太所生的五个子女。现年89岁、健康状况欠佳的何鸿燊有四位太太，总共为他生了至少16个子女，为一场可能充满怨恨的遗产争夺战搭起了舞台。
But a lawyer for Mr Ho subsequently said the transfer was “robbery”, saying family members had seized effective control of the casino empire “without his consent and knowledge”.
但是，何鸿燊的一名律师后来称，上述股份转移形同“抢劫”，称部分家人在“未经他同意和知情的情况下”，抢到了赌场王国的有效控制权。
Adding to confusion on Tuesday, beneficiaries of the transaction distributed signed statements by Mr Ho disputing the lawyer’s claims, saying it had been “100 per cent” in accordance with his wishes. “Recently a storm in the Ho family has engulfed the city. I feel it is time to stop,” the statement attributed to Mr Ho said, adding that the lawyer had been dismissed.
更让人看不懂的是，周二，上述交易的受益人散发了由何鸿燊签署的声明，对律师的说法表示异议，称这一交易百分之百合乎赌王的愿望。据称由何鸿燊所作的声明表示：“何家风波弄得满城风雨，是时候要停止，”并补充称，上述律师已被解聘。
The original transfer did not include Angela Leong, Mr Ho’s fourth wife, or their five children. Ms Leong is also SJM’s managing director and has an 8 per cent stake in the company. Forbes last year estimated that Mr Ho was worth $3.1bn, while SJM has a market capitalisation of HK$75.5bn (US$9.6bn).
最初的股份转移没有何鸿燊的四太梁安琪(Angela Leong)及其五个子女的份。梁安琪也是澳博的董事总经理，持有该公司8%股份。《福布斯》(Forbes)杂志去年估计，梁安琪的身家达到31亿美元，而澳博的市值为755亿港元（合96亿美元）。
“It’s quite amazing what’s happening,” said Aaron Fischer, an analyst with CLSA. “As of [Monday] we thought the succession issue had been resolved, but now we expect it to drag on for a long time and for SJM to trade at a discount to its peers.”
“正在发生的这一切令人惊叹，”里昂证券(CLSA)分析师艾伦•费舍尔(Aaron Fischer)表示。“就在周一，我们还以为继承问题已得到解决，但现在，我们预计此事将拖延很长一段时间，使澳博股价相对于同行有一定折让。”
Mr Ho’s Macao casinos control almost a third of the world’s most lucrative gaming market. Wealthy mainland Chinese gamblers helped Macao surpass Las Vegas in 2006 as the largest gaming centre.
何鸿燊旗下的澳门赌场控制着全球盈利最高博彩市场的将近三分之一。在富有的中国内地赌客推动下，澳门2006年超越拉斯维加斯，成为全球最大的博彩中心。
No comments:
Post a Comment