Lim Por-yen Hong Kong industrialist Country: Hong Kong

1. Biography of Lim Por-yen
2. Early Life and Career
3. Philanthropy and Contributions
4. Controversy and Legal Issues

Biography of Lim Por-yen

Lim Por-yen was a Hong Kong industrialist who founded the diversified conglomerate 'Lai Sun Group', and his family was the largest shareholder of the television company 'Asia Television' (ATV).

Early Life and Career

Lim Por-yen was born around 1914 in Chaoyang, Guangdong province, and moved to Hong Kong with his father in 1931. In 1945, Por-yen started a clothing factory for export in the Sham Shui Po district of Hong Kong. In the 1950s, he earned the nickname 'African King' when he began exporting cheap military uniforms to African countries. The shares of his company, 'Lai Sun Garment', which was established in 1947, later became listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. In 1987, Por-yen successfully transitioned into real estate when he established the profitable public company 'Lai Sun Development'.

Philanthropy and Contributions

Deeply attached to his hometown and mainland China, Por-yen began a large-scale donation program in 1980. He founded four secondary schools in Shantou and donated ¥35 million to establish a technical college in 1994. Additionally, Por-yen contributed an additional ¥10 million to the Shantou Education Fund. It is reported that he made over ¥700 million in donations, with more than half of it going to Shantou. Por-yen also supported the University of Hong Kong and made contributions to the establishment of the university exhibition 'Jao Tsung-I Petite Ecole'. He financially supported the 'Eye Genetics Research Center', later named in his honor, at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). Por-yen served as an advisor to Beijing on Hong Kong affairs and was one of the founders of the 'Better Hong Kong Foundation', which aimed to develop the local territories.

Controversy and Legal Issues

However, not everything went smoothly in the distinguished industrialist's career. He became involved in a major bribery scandal in Taiwan. Lim was arrested by the Taiwanese Bureau of Investigation on charges of offering a bribe of 200 million new Taiwanese dollars to several officials from the Taipei City Government's land resources management. Por-yen had acquired some land originally intended for agricultural and industrial development, which officials subsequently allocated for the construction of the new National Taipei University. The businessman then sold the land to the city for 890 million new Taiwanese dollars (28.6 million USD). It is alleged that Por-yen bribed the officials to facilitate the successful deal of allocating the new area for the university's construction.

In 1999, Por-yen was found guilty of bribery and money laundering through land transactions, but his prison sentence of 39 months was reduced to one year. Lim was married four times and had seven children. His first official wife was Lai Yuen-fong, his second wife was U Po-chu, a veteran of the garment industry and a member of the board of directors of Lai Sun Garment, but not an executive. His third wife was Gu Shui-ying, and his fourth wife was Choy Yim-yu.

Lim Por-yen passed away on February 18, 2005, due to a lung infection.