Ambrose So Shu Fai (pictured in a file photo), vice-chairman and chief executive of Macau casino operator SJM Holdings Ltd, is to retire in June, after 21 years linked to the group, according to a Thursday filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
Mr So has 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.
Upon retirement as executive director of SJM Holdings at the conclusion of the company’s 2023 annual general meeting – to be held on June 15 – Mr So “will cease to be” vice-chairman, chief executive and a member of several committees of the board of the casino firm.
Mr So was a long-time associate of late gaming entrepreneur Stanley Ho Hung Sun, the founder of SJM, 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.
Mr So joined STDM in 1976. He has been with SJM Holdings since its inception in 2006 and has 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.
“The board wishes to thank Dr. So for his valuable contribution during his long tenure of office as vice-chairman, executive director and chief executive officer of the company,” stated SJM Holdings in the filing.
The departing CEO “has confirmed that he has no disagreement with the board and is not aware of any matters in relation to his retirement … that needs to be brought to the attention of the shareholders of the company,” it added.
Mr So will remain as a director of SJM Resorts Ltd – the entity holding the Macau gaming concession on behalf of SJM Holdings – after his retirement as a director of the parent company.
After Mr So’s retirement, the executive committee of SJM Holdings will comprise of Daisy Ho Chiu Fung, the firm’s chairman, and Timothy Fok Tsun Ting, Angela Leong On Kei, and David Shum Hong Kuen.
The firm’s executive committee will “continue to oversee and be responsible for the implementation of the group’s strategic objectives and business operations”, as well as for the “ramp up” of the group’s flagshig Cotai property, Grand Lisboa Palace, following the award of a new, 10-year concession, which started in January this year.
