It’s the end of an era in Macau. Casino owner SJM Holdings announced last week that its founder, chairman and executive director, Stanley Ho, would step down after the company’s annual meeting in June. Ho founded the Sociedade de Turismo e Diversões de Macau in the 1960s and held a virtual monopoly on gambling in Macau until the industry was opened up to competition in 2002.
SJM controls 20 of Macau’s 38 casinos. Ho also owns companies that control the Macau Jockey Club, Shun Tak Holdings, which operates the ferries and hydrofoils shipping gamblers into the territory and a stake in Macau’s international airport.
“Dr. Ho has justifiably been acknowledged as the founding father of Macau’s gaming industry, which has for some time been the largest in the world in terms of revenue,” the SJM filing said. “Under Dr. Ho’s visionary leadership, the company and its subsidiaries achieved a significant growth in the past decade. The board expresses its sincere gratitude to Dr. Ho for his invaluable contributions in building a solid foundation for the company’s continuing growth in the future.”
SJM announced that it would appoint Daisy Ho Chiu Fung as co-chairman and executive director to replace her father. Along with Daisy, Timothy Fok Tsun Ting and Stanley’s wife, Angela Leong On Kei will be named as co-chairmen. So Shu Fai will be vice-chairman, executive director and CEO.
Stanley Ho has not been seen in public for several years after a fall severely injured him. Ho is 97 years old.
