Gordon Wu

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Sir Gordon Ying Sheung Wu (Chinese: 胡應湘; pinyin: Hú Yìngxiāng; Cantonese: Wu4 Jing3soeng1; born December 1935) is the chairman of the board of Hong Kong-listed Asian infrastructure firm Hopewell Holdings Ltd.

Wu has for 20 years advocated the construction of Asia's largest bridge project linking Hong Kong, Macau and China's Zhuhai city. The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge project was given support by the PRC government in August 2003.

Since the 1980s, Wu has steered Hopewell Holdings towards developing his vision of creating a world-class transport system for China's manufacturing powerhouse in the Pearl River Delta, which includes much of Guangdong province and makes use of its proximity to Hong Kong to access professional services and logistics.

The bridge will span two man-made islands, allowing it to go through an undersea tunnel and let shipping pass. The concept is based on the existing Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel in Virginia, United States.

Wu has predicted that commercial development in Hong Kong will focus upon the growth of four major pillar industries including retailing, tourism and logistics. He predicts a diminishing role for the property and textiles industries (source: October 2001, Logistics, Hong Kong Productivity Council).

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[edit] Educational background

Wu graduated from Princeton University with a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering in 1958. As one of the founders of Hopewell, he was the managing director from 1972 to 2002. In January 2002, he retired as the managing director of the company but remains as the chairman of the board. He was responsible for Hopewell's infrastructure projects in mainland China and Southeast Asia and has been involved in the design and construction of many buildings and development projects in Hong Kong and mainland China.

In 1984, Wu donated a worth of US$5 million of his company shares to Princeton University and formed a charity fund. However, the fund is now worth less than US$1 million due to the sharp fall of the share price of his company. Wu has also donated US$100 million to the university, a sum he planned to make available for university use in 2008, on the occasion of his 50th reunion. In a talk given in October 2006, however, Wu revealed intentions of making the contribution available to the university as sooner.

He is also the chairman of Hopewell Highway Infrastructure Limited, subsidiary of Hopewell listed on August 2003, and an independent non-executive director of i-Cable Communications Limited.

He received Honorary Doctorate degrees from Hong Kong Polytechnic University, University of Strathclyde and University of Edinburgh.

He is Chairman of the Council of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

[edit] Political stance

Wu used to be against accelerating the development of democracy in Hong Kong. But after the massive protest on July 1, 2003 in Hong Kong, he openly spoke about the possibility of electing the SAR Chief Executive by direct election.

Wu joined more than 80 of Hong Kong's richest business tycoons and their heirs apparent headed for Beijing on 26 September, 2003 on an annual pilgrimage.

In the run up to the December 2005 protest for democracy in Hong Kong, he said that demonstrators are mobs, and democracy is mobocracy.[citation needed]

[edit] Hopewell Holdings

[edit] Infrastructure

Hopewell is participating in the investment of five toll road projects with a total length of 360 km, all of which are located in the Pearl River Delta region of Guangdong Province in mainland China. Four toll road projects are in operation while construction of the 15km Phase I of the Guangzhou-Zhuhai West Superhighway (Guangzhou to Shunde section) commenced in December 2001. All of the projects are in the form of co-operative joint ventures between Hopewell and China partners.

  • Guangzhou-Shenzhen Superhighway
  • Guangzhou East-South-West Ring Road
  • Shunde Roads
  • Shunde 105 Roads
  • Guangzhou-Zhuhai West Superhighway

[edit] Property

Hopewell's property portfolio is mainly composed of commercial and residential premises in Hong Kong. These consist of more than 3.14 million square feet (292,000 m²) of gross area.

[edit] Hospitality

Hopewell owns hotels in Hong Kong and Guangzhou.

  • Panda Hotel
  • China Hotel

[edit] Management

Gordon Wu's son, Thomas Wu, is the deputy managing director of Hopewell.

[edit] Civic duties

Wu was knighted in 1997.

Wu's civic duties include:

[edit] In Hong Kong

[edit] In mainland China

[edit] International

  • Member of Business Advisory Council to the International Finance Corporation of the World Bank Group
  • Member of APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC)
  • Member of International Advisory Board of the Institue for International Business Communication, Japan

[edit] Honorary citizenships

[edit] Trivia

  • The world's most expensive truffle, a 1.51 kilogram rare White Alba truffle, was sold for 125,000 Euros (Hong Kong Dollar $1,250,000; US $160,000) on November 13, 2006 to Gordon Wu, who planned a charity dinner party at Toscana Restaurant at Ritz Carlton in Hong Kong. This price beats the previous world record of 95,000 Euros for a 1.21 kilogram White Alba truffle in 2005.
  • The dining hall of Princeton University's Butler residential college, built in 1983, is named for Wu.
  • The Science and Mathematics Center at The Taft School in Watertown, Ct, is named for Wu's wife, Lady Ivy Kwok Wu.
  • The Wah Yan College Cats rescue project is located in a cathouse on the roof of Gordon Wu Hall, Wah Yan College, Hong Kong.

[edit] External links

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