Shun Tak Holdings

Shun Tak Holdings Limited is a Hong Kong–Macau conglomerate founded in 1972 by Stanley Ho. The group developed from a business closely associated with cross-border passenger transportation and the commercial relationship between Hong Kong and Macau into a diversified enterprise with interests in shipping, property, hospitality, tourism, and investments. Its best-known operating activity is passenger ferry transportation under the TurboJET name. TurboJET provides high-speed and hydrofoil ferry services linking Hong Kong and Macau and operates through a joint venture with China Travel International Investment Hong Kong. The ferry business has historically been an important part of the travel infrastructure between the two cities, although its operating environment has been influenced by changing transport patterns and the development of competing cross-border links. Property is another major area of activity. Shun Tak has held and developed residential, commercial, hotel, and mixed-use assets, particularly in Macau and Hong Kong, while also pursuing selected investments elsewhere in Greater China and Asia. The group expanded its property footprint with the acquisition of a hotel property in Shanghai in 2015 and a commercial complex in Singapore in 2017. These transactions reflected a broader strategy of combining transport-linked businesses with real-estate and hospitality assets. The company has also maintained interests in hotels, tourism-related projects, and investment activities. Its portfolio is therefore less like a single consumer brand and more like a diversified regional corporate group whose businesses are connected by mobility, leisure, urban development, and Macau-related economic activity. Stanley Ho remained the founder and executive chairman for much of the company’s history. His daughters have held senior roles in the group: Pansy Ho has served as managing director, while Daisy Ho Chiu-fung and Maisy Ho Chiu-ha have served as executive directors. David Shum has also served as an executive director. Ownership and control arrangements changed in the period before the end of 2010, when an 11.55 percent stake was transferred by Stanley Ho to Hanika Realty, a company controlled by his second wife Lucina Laam and their five children. Hanika Realty consequently became Shun Tak’s largest single shareholder. Shun Tak has been a constituent of the Hang Seng Hong Kong MidCap Index since 11 September 2006. Its public-company identity is based on a combination of transportation operations, property holdings, hospitality assets, and investment activities rather than on one standalone product line. The group remains associated with Hong Kong–Macau connectivity and with the development and ownership of commercial and tourism-related real estate.

Shun Tak Holdings was established in 1972 by Stanley Ho as a Hong Kong–Macau business group. Its development was closely connected with passenger transportation between the two territories, later expanding into property, hospitality, tourism, and investment activities. The group’s shipping operations include companies associated with hydrofoil and high-speed ferry services. Its principal public-facing ferry operation is TurboJET, which operates services between Hong Kong and Macau through a joint venture with China Travel International Investment Hong Kong. Shun Tak’s shipping portfolio has also included Conwick Investment, Far East Hydrofoil Company, Hong Kong Macao Hydrofoil Company, Sunrise Field, Wealth Trump, Shun Tak–China Travel Macau Ferries, and Companhia de Serviços de Ferry STCT. Some of these entities have operated under earlier names or have had historical ownership relationships within the ferry sector. The company’s maritime history also includes Tai Tak Hing Shipping, the former owner of the steamship SS Fatshan. The vessel sank off Lantau during Typhoon Rose in 1971 while travelling from Macau, resulting in 88 deaths. This event preceded Shun Tak’s 1972 founding and is part of the historical record of a shipping company later associated with the group’s portfolio. Shun Tak broadened its activities through property and hospitality holdings. Its property interests have included residential developments in Macau as well as commercial, hotel, and mixed-use assets. In April 2015, the company acquired a hotel property in Shanghai for RMB700 million. In January 2017, it expanded internationally through the acquisition of a Singapore commercial complex for US$246.75 million. These transactions illustrate the group’s use of property and hospitality investments to complement its transport-related businesses. Until late 2010, Stanley Ho controlled the company. During that period, an 11.55 percent stake was transferred by Ho to Hanika Realty, a company controlled by his second wife Lucina Laam and their five children. The transfer made Hanika Realty Shun Tak’s largest single shareholder and marked an important change in the company’s shareholder structure. Management has remained associated with the Ho family. Stanley Ho was identified as founder and executive chairman, while his daughter Pansy Ho served as managing director. His daughters Daisy Ho Chiu-fung and Maisy Ho Chiu-ha served as executive directors, alongside David Shum. The company has been listed in Hong Kong and has been a constituent of the Hang Seng Hong Kong MidCap Index since 11 September 2006. Shun Tak’s corporate identity is consequently built around regional connectivity and asset ownership rather than a single consumer product. Its activities link ferry transportation, urban property, hotels, tourism, and investment assets across Hong Kong, Macau, mainland China, and selected overseas markets.

• 2017

  Singapore commercial acquisition

  [1]Shun Tak Holdingsen.wikipedia.org

  The group acquired a commercial complex in Singapore for US$246.75 million.

• 2015

  Shanghai hotel acquisition

  [1]Shun Tak Holdingsen.wikipedia.org

  Shun Tak acquired a hotel property in Shanghai for RMB700 million.

• 2010

  Shareholding transferred to Hanika Realty

  [1]Shun Tak Holdingsen.wikipedia.org

  By late 2010, an 11.55 percent stake had been transferred by Stanley Ho to Hanika Realty, making that company Shun Tak’s largest single shareholder.

• 2006

  Added to the Hang Seng Hong Kong MidCap Index

  [1]Shun Tak Holdingsen.wikipedia.org

  Shun Tak Holdings became a constituent of the Hang Seng Hong Kong MidCap Index on 11 September 2006.

• 1972

  Shun Tak Holdings is founded

  [1]Shun Tak Holdingsen.wikipedia.org

  Stanley Ho founded Shun Tak Holdings as a Hong Kong–Macau business group.

• 1971

  SS Fatshan sinks during Typhoon Rose

  [1]Shun Tak Holdingsen.wikipedia.org

  The steamship SS Fatshan, then owned by Tai Tak Hing Shipping, sank off Lantau while travelling from Macau, causing 88 deaths. Tai Tak Hing Shipping was later included among companies associated with Shun Tak’s shipping interests.

A diversified Hong Kong–Macau investment and operating group combining cross-border transportation with property, hospitality, tourism, and strategic investments.

• Passenger transportation

  TurboJET

  TurboJET is Shun Tak’s principal ferry brand and provides hydrofoil and high-speed passenger services between Hong Kong and Macau. The operation is conducted through a joint venture with China Travel International Investment Hong Kong. It represents the group’s strongest public-facing transportation activity and reflects its longstanding role in facilitating travel between the two territories.

• Real estate

  Property portfolio

  Shun Tak’s property portfolio includes residential, commercial, hotel, and mixed-use assets, with particular exposure to Macau and Hong Kong. The group has also made property acquisitions in mainland China and overseas markets, including a Shanghai hotel property and a Singapore commercial complex.

• Hospitality and tourism

  Hospitality and tourism investments

  The group invests in hotel, tourism, and leisure-related assets alongside its transport and property businesses. These interests extend Shun Tak’s involvement beyond ferry operations into travel-oriented real estate and destination-related activities.

• 2017

  Acquire Singapore commercial complexM&A

  Background

  The group pursued regional diversification through commercial property investments outside its core Hong Kong–Macau market.

  Action taken

  Shun Tak acquired a commercial complex in Singapore for US$246.75 million.

  Aftermath

  The transaction expanded Shun Tak’s commercial property exposure into Singapore.

  Acquisition price. US$246.75 million (January 2017)

  Source

• 2015

  Acquire Shanghai hotel propertyM&A

  Background

  Shun Tak was broadening its property and hospitality footprint beyond Hong Kong and Macau.

  Action taken

  The company purchased a hotel property in Shanghai for RMB700 million.

  Aftermath

  The acquisition added a mainland China hospitality asset to the group’s diversified property portfolio.

  Acquisition price. RMB700 million (April 2015)

  Source

1. 1Shun Tak Holdingsen.wikipedia.org