Corporate News

Dr Rita Fan Hsu Lai Tai, GBM, GBS, JP elected new Steward of The Hong Kong Jockey Club

4 September 2008

 

At the Annual General Meeting of The Hong Kong Jockey Club today (4 September), Voting Members elected one new Steward and re-elected five Stewards to the Board.

The new Steward is Dr Rita Fan Hsu Lai Tai, GBM, GBS, JP, who is President of the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong SAR until 30 September 2008.  Dr Fan, whose detailed biography is set out below, was elected to serve the remaining two-year term of Mr Robert C Kwok, JP, who had decided to retire as he will reach the age of 70 in October.  Mr Kwok was first elected a Steward in 1997.

At the same time, retiring Stewards Mr John C C Chan, GBS, JP; Mr T Brian Stevenson, SBS, JP; Mr Simon S O Ip, JP and Mr Lester C H Kwok, JP were re-elected to serve further terms of three years each.  In addition, Mr Iain F Bruce, who was co-opted to join the Board in March 2008 to fill the vacancy left by Mr David Eldon, GBS, CBE, JP, was elected to serve the remaining one year of Mr Eldon's three-year term.

Following the Meeting, the new Board of Stewards re-elected Mr Chan as Chairman and Mr Stevenson as Deputy Chairman for 2008/09.

Earlier Mr Chan, reviewing the highlights of the 2007/08 season, said it had been a very special year for the Club with considerable effort and resources being devoted towards the staging of the Olympic equestrian events in Hong Kong.  In addition to making this historic event possible by providing the equestrian venues and supporting facilities, the Club had enjoyed a successful season on all its traditional fronts.

Total group turnover comfortably set new records, growing by 7.7% to HK$108.5 billion, while the Club's contribution to the public purse through tax and duty payments increased to HK$13.2 billion, the highest for ten years.  On top of this, the Club committed more than HK$1.05 billion to charitable and community projects through The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust and contributed a further HK$957 million to the Lotteries Fund. The Club's total contribution to our community thus amounted to over HK$15 billion.

It was especially encouraging, Mr Chan noted, to see the Club's core racing product show a continued upward trend with horse race betting turnover increasing by 5.8% to HK$67.7 billion.  This was the first time for more than a decade that turnover growth had been achieved in two consecutive years.  Hong Kong horses had also continued to make their mark on the global stage, with three locally-trained horses now ranked in the world's top seven - a remarkable achievement for a jurisdiction with such a small horse population.

Nevertheless, he pointed out, the enormous challenges Hong Kong was facing in the leisure and tourism markets from elsewhere in the region could not be ignored.  This challenge extended far beyond Macau, as many other countries or regions in Asia were exploring or taking active steps to establish casino resorts.  "This is not just competition among gaming operators and products, it is competition among governments and tax authorities in Asia to win a share of this growing revenue pie. While other players are surging ahead, Hong Kong is getting left behind in this race," Mr Chan said.

"When we ask the Government for greater flexibility to compete in this growingly globalised market, we are trying to ensure that Hong Kong as a whole can protect its important gaming revenues for the use and benefit of our community.  Indeed, given our world-class racing products and acknowledged expertise in this market, we can help Hong Kong attract more offshore inflows if a more suitable taxation framework can be put in place.

"It has always been the Club's aim, as a not-for-profit and socially responsible organisation, to serve our community in everything that we do," Mr Chan emphasised.  "A thriving and dynamic Jockey Club is beneficial to Hong Kong, as proven by past experience and our track record. The rest of the world is moving fast and Hong Kong simply cannot afford to stand still. We hope that our policy makers can work together with the Club to generate more revenue for our community."

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Biography

Dr Rita Fan Hsu Lai Tai, GBM, GBS, JP

Dr Rita Fan, aged 62, is one of Hong Kongbest-known public figures and has an outstanding track record of service to the community, especially in her long-standing role as a legislator, having first been appointed to the Legislative Council in 1983.  She became President of the Provisional Legislative Council on the establishment of the Hong Kong SAR in 1997, and has since served with distinction as President of all three elected Legislative Councils to date, her current term of office expiring on 30 September 2008.  Dr Fan was also a Member of the Executive Council from 1989 to 1992.

In the lead-up to Hong Kong's reunification with China, Dr Fan played a valuable role as a member of the Preliminary Working Committee from 1993 to 1995 and of the Preparatory Committee from 1995 to 1997.  She was also a Hong Kong Deputy to both the Ninth and Tenth sessions of the National People's Congress (NPC) between 1998 and 2008, and is now a Member of the Standing Committee of the Eleventh session of the NPC.

Outside the political arena, she is an Honorary Advisor to Junior Chamber International Hong Kong and Patron of the Hong Kong Kidney Foundation, the Hong Kong Transplant Sports Association and the Whole Person Education Foundation.  She was Chairman of the Education Commission from 1990 to 1992 and Chairman of the Board of Education from 1986 to 1989.

Educated in Hong Kong at St Stephen's Girls' College, Dr Fan holds a Master degree in Social Science from the University of Hong Kong, an Honorary Doctorate in Social Science from the City University of Hong Kong and an Honorary Doctorate in Law from the China University of Political Science and Law, PRC.  Her record of public service has been acknowledged by the award of the Gold Bauhinia Star in 1998 and Hong Kong's top award, the Grand Bauhinia Medal, in 2007.

Dr Fan became a Full Member of The Hong Kong Jockey Club in 2002 and was elected a Voting Member in 2005.  She was a part-Owner of the horse !ĦħFirst Among Equals!ĦL.


Photo:
Dr Rita Fan Hsu Lai Tai, GBM, GBS, JP


 

 

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