Chow Tai Fook
Chow Tai Fook group is a Hong Kong–based, privately owned conglomerate with holdings in the jewellery, property development, hotel, department store, transportation, energy, telecommunications, port, casino, and other businesses. Despite the holding companies of the group, namely Chow Tai Fook Capital Limited, Chow Tai Fook Limited, Chow Tai Fook Enterprises Limited, etc. being privately owned, the group has been partially listed on the stock market via associate company New World Development and subsidiary Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group Limited. As of 31 December 2018, New World Development was ranked as the 47th-largest company by market capitalization on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong, which was HK$105.68061 billion.
However, the size of the unlisted portions of the Chow Tai Fook business empire is unclear. The Financial Times quoted one banker of the Cheng Yu-tung family, who said, "You can't look at YT without looking at the private side of the business and his ability to spot early investment opportunities". Notable unlisted businesses of the group include Rosewood Hotel Group, as well as Australia-based Alinta Energy and the Loy Yang B power station, which were acquired in 2017.
Chow Tai Fook Capital is owned by the descendants of the late Chow Tai Fook Jewellery founder Chow Chi-yuen and his son-in-law, the late Cheng Yu-tung, which includes the current Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group chairman, Chow Tai Fook director Henry Cheng.
History
The Chow Tai Fook group began with the Chow Tai Fook jewellery store, founded by Chow Chi-yuen in 1929 in Guangzhou, China. The store shifted its business to Portuguese Macau in 1940 and then to British Hong Kong after the breakout of the Second Sino-Japanese War in the 1930s and the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949. The group returned to mainland China after the market reforms of the 1980s, notably as New World Department Store China and former listed company New World China Land.Cheng Yu-tung took over the business empire from his father-in-law Chow Chi-yuen in 1956. Other sons of Chow emigrated after the outbreak of Hong Kong 1967 leftist riots, such as Stephen Chow Shue-tong, an architect who emigrated to Canada. Stephen Chow also involved in the founding of the real estate division of Chow Tai Fook group in the 1960s. Cheng transformed the group into a diversified empire, with interests in jewellery retailing, real estate, hotels, transportation, public utilities, and other businesses. In 1961, Chow Tai Fook Jewellery built a residential building at 265–275 Tai Nan Street, Sham Shui Po, Kowloon. The building was also named after Tai Fook. The real estate division became the listed company New World Development in 1972; the group, via Chow Tai Fook Enterprises, also made private investments in real estate and hotels.
One of the main holding companies of the group, Chow Tai Fook Enterprises Limited, was incorporated on 10 August 1966 in British Hong Kong, while the flagship listed company New World Development Company Limited was incorporated in 1970 in British Hong Kong. The jewellery store chain was incorporated as Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Company Limited in 1961 in British Hong Kong, and a new holding company for the jewellery division was incorporated in the Cayman Islands and listed in the Hong Kong S.A.R., now part of China, as Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group Limited in 2011.
As of 2018, the group also consists of two more parent companies in the group structure, namely Chow Tai Fook Capital Limited and its subsidiary Chow Tai Fook Limited. They were incorporated in the British Virgin Islands. Chow Tai Fook is the parent company of Chow Tai Fook Enterprises and Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group.
Subsidiaries and affiliates
The Chow Tai Fook group, via Chow Tai Fook Limited and Chow Tai Fook Enterprises Limited, owned two listed companies as the significant shareholder: Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group Limited and New World Development Company Limited. New World Development also owned a few listed second-tier subsidiaries, such as New World Department Store China, NWS Holdings, etc. New World China Land, another second-tier subsidiary, was a listed company until its privatization by New World Development in 2016. The privatization of listed second-tier subsidiary New World Department Store China by New World Development was not approved by the minority shareholders in 2017. Another second-tier listed subsidiary, New World Hotels, was privatized by New World Development and Chow Tai Fook Enterprises in 1990.New World Development is a constituent of the Hong Kong blue-chip Hang Seng Index. Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group, as of 13 October 2016, was the world's second-largest jeweller by market capitalization.
Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group
Chow Tai Fook Jewellery is a jewellery store and gold shop founded by Chow Chi-yuen in 1929 in Guangzhou, China. His son-in-law Cheng Yu-tung took over the business in 1956 and their descendants continue to own the business today. Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Company Limited was the core company of the store chain. It was incorporated in British Hong Kong in 1961. The brand is popular in the Chinese-speaking world, according to a research by CLSA. The store has retail outlets in several countries, including over 6,800 retail outlets in mainland China.Cheng invented gold with 99.99% purity as a product of Chow Tai Fook Jewellery, which became a standard for industry peers in Hong Kong. In 1964, Chow Tai Fook Jewellery acquired a license for purchasing diamonds from De Beers, the monopoly supplier at that time. It was reported that 30% of diamond imports into Hong Kong in the 1970s were purchased by Chow Tai Fook.
In 1960s, Chow Tai Fook established another brand in a building of the same name in Central. Manning House became one of the rental properties of the jeweller's sister company New World Development's portfolio in the 1970s.
In 1971, Chow Tai Fook Jewellery introduced ornaments made of vitreous enamel. It was credited as a new industry of Hong Kong at that time.
In 1989, Chow Tai Fook Jewellery broke the record for the highest price paid for a rough diamond. The company paid US$10 million for a diamond weighing 255.61 carats.
By September 2010, the company had 1,000 chain stores in mainland China, including franchisees and its own outlets; it also set an objective of opening 2,000 chain stores in mainland China by the year of 2020. Chow Tai Fook Jewellery has played a leading role in its market segment since it foundation, especially in the period since 1997. For 5 continuous years since 2005, it held the no. 1 market share position in its industry segment.
In 2010, Chow Tai Fook Jewellery purchased Cullinan Heritage, a 507-carat diamond, for US$35.3 million, setting a new record for the highest price paid for a rough diamond.
On 15 December 2011, the jewellery division of Chow Tai Fook group, under new holding company Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group Limited, was listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong at a price of HK$15 per share under the stock code 1929, the year of establishment of the chain.
On 4 April 2017, according to Sotheby's, Chow Tai Fook acquired the Pink Star diamond at an auction in Hong Kong for US$71.2 million.
On 23 May 2018, the Gemological Institute of America partnered with Chow Tai Fook on a pilot program that will use blockchain to deliver digital diamond-grading reports.
On 17 January 2020, Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group acquired the natural-coloured gem specialist ENZO.
As at 31 December 2024, the group had 7,065 points of sale in total, including 6,904 POS in mainland China and 161 combined in Hong Kong & Macau of China and other markets. The Group closed a net of 281 POS during the 3Q of FY2025. *"shop-in-shop"/"counter-in-shop” excluded
Incidents
Chow Tai Fook Jewellery has fallen victim to major crime a number of times. In 1966, diamonds worth HK$1.23 million at that time, were stolen during transport from South Africa. In 1974, diamonds worth HK$250,000 were stolen from the staff of Chow Tai Fook Jewellery in Manning House, Central, Hong Kong. In 1980 and 1981, the Kowloon City branch was hit twice by armed robberies. The thieves also injured a staff member of the jewellery store and a student walking nearby in the second robbery. In 1985, in front of the Kowloon City branch, a gunfight broke out between the Royal Hong Kong Police and the robbers, in which a policeman was injured. On the same day, a man with a gunshot wound arrived at the hospital, who was suspected to be one of the robbers. In 1989, armed robbers disguised as customers stole luxury watches from the branch. It was reported the watches had a worth of HK$5 million at that time. In 1991, the Kowloon City branch suffered another armed robbery, followed by the robbery of the branch in Central in September and again in October 1991. In 1998 another branch in Paterson Street, Causeway Bay was robbed by. Kwai Ping-hung, who was also involved in other crime where he was deemed Hong Kong's most wanted man.In recent years, however, the company has seldom experienced armed robberies. Notorious robbers Yip Kai Foon and Kwai Ping-hung were arrested in 1996 and 2003, respectively.
New World Development
New World Development is one of the leading property developers based in Hong Kong. It has been listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange since 23 November 1972. The initial public offering price was HK$2, issuing about 96.75 million of new shares. The shares were initially traded in 3 out of the 4 exchanges of Hong Kong, namely the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, and Kam Ngan Stock Exchange, the predecessors of the current Stock Exchange of Hong Kong.As of 2018, New World Development is the parent company of listed companies NWS Holdings, New World Department Store China and former listed companies New World Hotels , and New World China Land. New World Development also owned former listed companies NW China Investment, New World Infrastructure, and Renaissance Hotel Group.
As of 1986, Chow Tai Fook Enterprises owned 466,927,948 shares in New World Development, or about 43% of the issued share capital. As of 2018, CTFE still owned 44.41% shares of NWD, or 4,535,634,444 shares.
New World Development started its expansion in the 1970s with the acquisition of numerous properties and companies. The flagship property, New World Centre was built on the former site of Holt's Wharf, a former godown terminal that was owned by British companies Swire Group and Blue Funnel Line. In the first financial year after the initial public offering in November 1972, NWD had acquired 23 sites by paying HK$110 million in cash, and about 101 million new shares with a par value of HK$1 each. The issue of new shares and the acquisitions of the holding companies of properties such as Kowloon Town Development Company Limited were completed in the 1973–74 financial year. The company also formed joint ventures with fellow developer Sun Hung Kai Properties and non-profit organisation Tung Wah Group of Hospitals. Kwok Tak-seng, patriarch of SHK, also served as a director of New World Development from the 1970s until his death in 1990.
One of the initial rental holdings of NWD, Manning House, was in fact developed by Kin Kiu Enterprises in 1965. It was reported that Cheng Yu-tung, patriarch of Chow Tai Fook Jewellery, was one of the directors of Kin Kiu Enterprises at that time. Both Kin Kiu Enterprises and Manning House were part of NWD's initial wholly owned subsidiaries and portfolio in 1973. The 11th floor of Manning House also served as the headquarters of NWD. According to the news report, the known directors of Kin Kiu Enterprises were Young Chi-wan, as well as K.W. Yue, who also served as the chairman of the company. As of 1973, Young and his son Albert Yeung Bing-ching were the directors of NWD, of which Young also served as one of the two vice-chairmen. As of 1986, Albert Yeung and his brother Howard Yeung Ping-leung still served as members of the board of NWD. Albert also owned a small personal stake in NWD in 1986.
New World Hotels, formerly Kai Tak Land Investment, was incorporated in 1957 and was acquired by New World Development in October 1976. Kai Tak Land Investment's Kai Tak Commercial Building was added to NWD's rental portfolio. In October 1976, NWD also acquired privately owned Timely Enterprises. Timely Enterprises was the company that owned the American International Tower, which was renamed in 1980. It was the headquarters of New World Development and Chow Tai Fook Enterprises. Construction companies, such as Hip Hing Construction,, and others were acquired by NWD circa 1973.
In the past, NWD also owned New World Telecommunications, one of Hong Kong's major telecommunication companies. However, the sale of NWD to competitor HKBN in 2016 was described by Financial Times as part of "the process of succession planning as the founders reach retirement age or pass away.". NWD also previously owned a minority stake in CSL New World Mobility. The stake was sold to the PCCW group in 2013. One-third of the share capital of Asia Television was acquired in 1988, but the stake was sold in the 1990s.
In the nearby enclave of Portuguese Macau, NWD once owned an 85% stake of Macao Water via a joint venture with French company Suez Lyonnaise des Eaux as of 1987. The stake of the intermediate parent company of Macao Water was transferred to listed subsidiary New World Infrastructure in 1997. The same French company had attempted to acquire Companhia de Electricidade de Macau from Sociedade de Turismo e Diversões de Macau in 1987, by forming a joint venture with a company owned by Cheng Yu-tung. The stake of the aforementioned water and electricity joint venture, Sino-French Holdings, held by Chow Tai Fook Enterpriese, was sold to the listed second-tier subsidiary of CTFE, New World Infrastructure, in 1997 for HK$1 billion The stake in Sino-French Holdings was then transferred to another listed subsidiary NWS Holdings. The indirect stake in CEM was sold in 2014.
As of 2018, New World Development owned 16 hotels, but most of them have been closely associated with a hotel management unit, Rosewood Hotel Group, that was privately owned by Chow Tai Fook Enterprises.
On top of using its own resources, New World Development also partnered with parent company Chow Tai Fook group on a number of redevelopment projects, such as the acquisition of a 90% stake in Kut Cheong Mansion in North Point in the 2010s. Chow Tai Fook Enterprises, via Sunbig Limited, sold a 40% stake in the aforementioned Kut Cheong Mansion to New World Development for HK$1.779 billion in January 2015.
In 2010, the Chinese translation of a book, Land and the Ruling Class in Hong Kong, popularized the term to describe Hong Kong's real estate tycoon families. The combined Chow Tai Fook–New World Development group was one of the families described in the book. The owners of the Chow Tai Fook–New World Development group, the Cheng Yu-tung family, has been sometimes considered one of the four big tycoon families of Hong Kong.