One Ho wins, another Ho loses
HONG KONG – Stanley Ho’s Macau casino flagship, SJM Holdings, has hurdled the final barrier to its listing when the High Court here dismissed as groundless a judicial review sought by the tycoon’s estranged sister, Winnie Ho.
SJM’s IPO will now go ahead on July 16
The High Court ruled that Winnie Ho had no grounds to halt the listing and that it was ironic for her to seek an injunction.
Justice Anselmo Reyes said SJM’s gaming business is not contrary to the public interest in Hong Kong even though gambling is prohibited in the territory.
“I do not see how (the Hong Kong government’s discouraging of gambling) logically translates into a policy against Hong Kong people reaping (the) benefits of gambling outside Hong Kong,” Reyes said.
“To put it starkly, if persons outside Hong Kong wish foolishly to lose money by gambling outside Hong Kong and thereby generate sizable profits for a company, why should people in Hong Kong not be entitled to share in that company’s profits from the foolishness of others?”
Winnie Ho’s claim that the listing of a gambling company is not in the public interest of Hong Kong was ironic, Justice Reyes said.
“It is contradictory for (Winnie Ho and her company Moon Valley) to be upholding Hong Kong public policy against gambling while themselves in Hong Kong reaping the dividends of the very gambling which they say the stock exchange of Hong Kong and the Securities and Futures Commission should have proscribed.”
SJM was to have made its trading debut this week, but postponed the IPO until next Wednesday because of the court case.
Ian Jarrett
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