Ho Sin Hang

Ho Sin Hang was born in 1900 in Panyu, Guangdong, southern China. Due to poverty he only received a few years of education and began working at the age of 14. He worked in a salt warehouse for two years before taking up a position as an apprentice in a goldsmith's shop. ==Career==

Ho completed his apprenticeship and was promoted to assistant manager at age 22. Two years later he resigned from his position to set up a trading business in Guangzhou. In 1933, Ho co-founded Hang Seng Ngan Ho with three partners, Lam Bing Yim (林炳炎), Sheng Tsun Lin (盛春霖) and Leung Chik Wai (梁植偉). Hang Seng began as a small currency changing booth on Wing Lok Street in Sheung Wan. Ho co-founded New World Development company in 1970 with Chow Chi Yuen. He served as the company's first chairman while Chow acted as Director and general manager. Ho also served as a director of Wing Lung Bank as well as Bangkok Mercantile Company. His other directorships included the Miramar and Furama hotels and he had business interests in the shipping and insurance industries. Along with Hang Seng Director Lee Quo-wei, he commissioned Hang Seng's head of Research Stanley Kwan to create the index, which is now globally recognised as the leading benchmark for the Hong Kong stock market. == Philanthropy==

, Chinese University of Hong Kong Ho was the founder and director of several middle and primary schools, donating many scholarships. In 1970, he founded the S. H. Ho Foundation to support charitable causes in China and overseas, including regional construction, education, medical services, scientific research and the training of new talent. In 1974, he founded the Hang Seng School of Commerce. In 1980, following the reform and opening up of mainland China, Ho found his former employee Chen Zhenxia (陳震夏) in Shanghai. Chen had kept HK$10,000 in Ho's trust when the two lost contact in 1949 due to the Communist takeover of China. After three decades of Ho's management, the value of the funds had risen to $120 million. Following Ho's advice, Chen used two-thirds of the windfall to establish the Huaxia Foundation dedicated to the cause of education and health in China and Hong Kong. Ho also donated HK$20 million to help establish the business school of Zhongshan University in Guangzhou. ==Death==

Ho died in Hong Kong on 4 December 1997 at the age of 97. ==Honours==

Ho was named as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1978. He was also honoured by the Thai and Japanese governments for his services to trade and commerce. In 1971 he was given the degree of Doctor of Social Sciences by the Chinese University of Hong Kong. In 1983 he was conferred the Doctor of Laws by the University of Hong Kong. In 1990, he became an Honorary Adviser to Zhongshan University and was conferred the Honorary Doctorates degree by that university in 1995. ==References==