Ho Ying-chie (, 8 June 1911 – 21 January 2000) was a Hong Kong businessman and philanthropist.
He made a fortune as chairman of Hong Kong Tobacco.
Born in 1911 in Pudong, Shanghai, Ho started his education at nine years old but left school at 14 years old to become an apprentice at the family's printing factory. Within two years, Ho mastered the skills of printing and become the manager of the factory.
In 1931, at the age of 20, Ho set up a printing factory.
During the outbreak of
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War was fought between the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the Empire of Japan between 1937 and 1945, following a period of war localized to Manchuria that started in 1931. It is considered part ...
in 1937, there was a lack of workers so Ho personally led the operations at his factory, making it the only printing factory operational in Shanghai.
This led to a profitable business within weeks and Ho invested in printing paper which was in demand and prices surge during the war.
In 1942, Ho started a tobacco company in Shanghai.
His brand of tobacco proved to be popular. After the war, Ho started Hong Kong Tobacco at Hong Kong in 1949.
At the age of 20, and invested the profits in a tobacco business. He reportedly abandoned this operation in 1948 and emigrated to Hong Kong.
In 1962, three directors and the chief accountant of Hong Kong Tobacco were charged with tax evasion. Ho Ying-chie was charged with assisting the company to evade profit tax and keeping falsified records. Ho's son, Ho Kwan-king, was also charged.
On 15 February 1962, the four pleaded guilty in
Victoria District Court.
Ho was sentenced to a fine of HK$10,000.
He supported various charitable causes including
Project Orbis
A project is a type of assignment, typically involving research or design, that is carefully planned to achieve a specific objective.
An alternative view sees a project managerially as a sequence of events: a "set of interrelated tasks to be ...
. In July 1996, Ho donated HK$100 million to aid flood victims in China.
Ho died on 21 January 2000 at the
Hong Kong Sanatorium.
His body was flown to the United States for burial in Hartsdale, New York.
Family
Ho married when he was 18.
Ho's grandchildren include
Charles Ho (born 1949) and Canadian based
David Ho
David Da-i Ho (; pinyin: ''Hé Dà-yī''; born November 3, 1952) is a Taiwanese-American AIDS researcher, physician, and virologist who has made a number of scientific contributions to the understanding and treatment of HIV infection. He w ...
(born 1953).
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ho, Ying-chie
1911 births
2000 deaths
Businesspeople from Shanghai
Chinese emigrants to British Hong Kong
Hong Kong billionaires
Hong Kong businesspeople
20th-century Hong Kong philanthropists
Chinese people convicted of tax crimes
Burials at Ferncliff Cemetery