Karson Choi takes 14pc stake in Sing Tao, made co-chairman

31-05-2022 00:00 HKT

Shares of Sing Tao News Corporation (1105) once rose 26 percent after the news group's major shareholder Kwok Hiu-ting, daughter of mainland developer Kaisa's (1638) chairman Kwok Ying-shing, sold half of her total shares to Karson Choi Ka-tsan.

Karson Choi, son of "toy king" Francis Choi Chee-ming, has been appointed as an executive director and become the co-chairman of the board, Sing Tao, the parent company of The Standard, said in a regulatory filing yesterday.

The 36-year-old Karson Choi is the chairman of the Unique Timepieces Watches Group, the vice-chairman of Early Light International Holdings and president of the Hong Kong Poverty Alleviation Association.

He held 14.2 percent of the shares of the company after buying 125 million shares from Kwok Hiu-ting at an undisclosed price.

The 27-year-old Kwok Hiu-ting's shareholding in Sing Tao dropped from 28.39 percent to 14.2 percent, making her and Karson Choi both the biggest shareholders of the media group.

Sing Tao ended up 9.2 percent yesterday on the news.

Karson Choi will be entitled to a director's emolument of HK$1 per month.

Kwok Ying-shing remains an executive director of the group and co-chairs the board with Karson Choi.

In February 2021, Kwok Hiu-ting spent HK$375 million in the over-the-counter market to buy 250 million shares of Sing Tao, representing approximately 28.39 percent of the company's shares, making her the largest shareholder at the time. Karson Choi was appointed as a non-executive director of the company after Kwok Hiu-ting bought shares from the then-chairman Charles Ho Tsu-kwok.

Meanwhile, Sing Tao said yesterday that Andrew Fan Chun-wah, son of former Legislative Council president Rita Fan Hsu Lai-tai, has been appointed as an independent non-executive director of the company. Fan, 43, has also been appointed as a member of the audit committee, the remuneration committee and the nomination committee.

Rita Fan is also a former standing committee member of the National People's Congress.