GGRAsia – Ambrose So officially retires from SJM Holdings leadership

Ambrose So officially retires from SJM Holdings leadership

Jun 16, 2023 Newsdesk Latest News, Macau, Top of the deck

Ambrose So Shu Fai (pictured in a file photo) has officially stepped down on Thursday as vice-chairman and chief executive of Macau casino operator SJM Holdings Ltd. His retirement coincided with the company’s 2023 annual general meeting, in which he did not seek re-election as an executive director.

Mr So was meanwhile appointed as an advisor of the company, said SJM Holdings in a filing on Thursday to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange confirming his retirement from the company’s board and management. The firm is yet to announce a new CEO.

Mr So will remain as a director of SJM Resorts Ltd, the entity holding the Macau gaming concession on behalf of SJM Holdings.

The plan for Mr So to step down from SJM Holdings’ leadership had been flagged by the company in April.

Mr So had been linked to the SJM group and its subsidiaries for more than two decades, including 16 years as executive director and CEO, and five years as SJM Holdings’ vice-chairman.

He was a long-time associate of late gaming entrepreneur Stanley Ho Hung Sun, the founder of the SJM group and of Sociedade de Turismo e Diversões de Macau SA (STDM), the latter the holder of the city’s gaming monopoly before the liberalisation of the industry at the turn of the century. STDM is the controlling shareholder of SJM Holdings.

Mr So joined STDM in 1976. He had been with SJM Holdings since its inception in 2006 and had been linked to many company milestones, including the opening in 2007 of the Grand Lisboa property on Macau peninsula, and the expansion of the group’s gaming operations to Cotai with the development of Grand Lisboa Palace, which opened in July 2021.

Mr So “has confirmed that he has no disagreement with the board,” stated SJM Holdings in its filing on Thursday.

It added: “The board would like to express its appreciation for Dr. So’s valuable contribution during his long tenure of office as vice-chairman, executive director and chief executive of the company.”

SJM Holdings also said that executive director David Shum Hong Kuen had been appointed as authorised representative of the company, following Mr So’s retirement.

Last month, SJM Holdings reported first-quarter 2023 adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) of HKD31 million (US$4.0 million), compared with a negative figure of HKD474 million in the same period a year earlier.