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Mr.
Kuang Piu Chao is one of Hong Kong's most renowned industrialists,
Chairman of the Board of Novel Enterprises Ltd., Chairman of
the Board of Novel E&O Industries Ltd., and Honorary Chairman
of DragonAir. He is also an Honorary Doctorate and Honorary
Professor of Zhejiang University, Advisor (Professorial rank)
to Tsinghua University, and Advisor (Professorial rank) to Ningbo
University.
Mr. Chao was
born to a Ningbo family in Shanghai in 1920. He moved to Hong
Kong in the early 1950s. After encountering many hardships,
he opened a wool-spinning factory and Hong Kong's first knitwear
factory. As a result, Mr. Chao earned the moniker, "King
of Hong Kong's Wool Industry."
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In 1978, before the Full Session of the Third Plenum of the
Eleventh Congress, Mr. Chao opened Xiangzhou Wool-Spinning Factory
in Xiangzhou [today's Zhuhai Special Economic Zone]. This marked
the birth of both the "compensation trade" and the "San Lai"
compensation trade that contributed markedly to the subsequent
opening of China to the rest of the world.
In 1985, Mr.
Chao's founded Hong Kong Dragon Airlines (DragonAir). DragonAir
developed from a single-plane airline into today's 28 plane
regional carrier employing more that 3,500 and connecting major
cities throughout China as well as trunk cities throughout the
Asian region.
Under Mr. Chao's
leadership, the Hong Kong-based Novel Group, has also been very
active over the past decades in developing and expanding overseas.
The Group has now emerged into a multinational company covering
a range of business such as textile, garment, airline, property
development, jewelry, high-tech development, etc. with operations
in many countries of the world.
Mr.Chao loves
his home land and has made significant contribution to China's
education. His donated funds at Tsinghua University, Zhejiang
University, Ningbo University, Shanda University, as well as
other educational donations amount over £¤300 million.
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| Awards: |
¡°Wharton
School Dean's Medal¡± --- awarded by the Wharton School,
University of Pennsylvania on 5 June 2004. Mr. Chao is
one of the only two awardees from China in the history
of the Award.
¡°Silver Bauhinia Star¡± --- conferred by the Government
of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in 2002.
¡°Order of the Sacred Treasure, Gold Rays with Rosette¡±
--- awarded by the Government of Japan on June 13, 2001. |
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| Others: |
Honorary
Citizen: Shanghai, Ningbo and Zhuhai.
In 1999 the International Minor Planter [asteroid] Naming
Commission approved the naming of asteroid #4566, discovered
by the Chinese Academy of Science's Zijin Mountain Observatory
outside Nanjing, after Mr. K P Chao. |
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