The chief executive of one of Hong Kong's major developers yesterday suffered a legal setback in his feud with his two younger brothers over control of the company.
High Court Justice Susan Kwan yesterday refused to grant a temporary injunction to Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd (新鴻基地產) chairman and chief executive Walter Kwok (郭炳湘) to stop the company’s board from meeting to oust him.
The company’s lawyers joined Kwok’s younger brothers in opposing the request.
Justice Kwan called Kwok’s request “problematic” and said it was not her place to intervene.
“The court must leave the board to decide on an issue of internal matters,” Kwan said.
She also refused to grant an injunction pending an appeal by Walter Kwok.
Attorneys in the case had no comment.
Kwok and his two younger brothers, Raymond Kwok (郭炳聯) and Thomas Kwok (郭炳江) — both vice chairmen at Sun Hung Kai — did not attend the hearing.
In his lawsuit, Walter Kwok accused his brothers of plotting to oust him by portraying him as mentally ill.
The 56-year-old Walter Kwok said he raised concerns about the terms of the lease of a major new skyscraper in Hong Kong, the International Commerce Center, and questioned the company’s apparent favoring of certain contractors and the high price of a piece of land the company had bought.
He said he also proposed hiring an accounting firm to review management practices in the company — something his younger brothers opposed.
In response, Walter Kwok claimed his brothers arranged for a Stanford University doctor to visit Hong Kong and fed him misinformation that led him to diagnose Walter Kwok with bipolar affective disorder. Walter Kwok’s brothers then pushed for his dismissal, he said.
It was late morning and steam was rising from water tanks atop the colorful, but opaque-windowed, “soapland” sex parlors in a historic Tokyo red-light district. Walking through the narrow streets, camera in hand, was Beniko — a former sex worker who is trying to capture the spirit of the area once known as Yoshiwara through photography. “People often talk about this neighborhood having a ‘bad history,’” said Beniko, who goes by her nickname. “But the truth is that through the years people have lived here, made a life here, sometimes struggled to survive. I want to share that reality.” In its mid-17th to
‘MAKE OR BREAK’: Nvidia shares remain down more than 9 percent, but investors are hoping CEO Jensen Huang’s speech can stave off fears that the sales boom is peaking Shares in Nvidia Corp’s Taiwanese suppliers mostly closed higher yesterday on hopes that the US artificial intelligence (AI) chip designer would showcase next-generation technologies at its annual AI conference slated to open later in the day. The GPU Technology Conference (GTC) in California is to feature developers, engineers, researchers, inventors and information technology professionals, and would focus on AI, computer graphics, data science, machine learning and autonomous machines. The event comes at a make-or-break moment for the firm, as it heads into the next few quarters, with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s (黃仁勳) keynote speech today seen as having the ability to
NEXT GENERATION: The company also showcased automated machines, including a nursing robot called Nurabot, which is to enter service at a Taichung hospital this year Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) expects server revenue to exceed its iPhone revenue within two years, with the possibility of achieving this goal as early as this year, chairman Young Liu (劉揚偉) said on Tuesday at Nvidia Corp’s annual technology conference in San Jose, California. AI would be the primary focus this year for the company, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), as rapidly advancing AI applications are driving up demand for AI servers, Liu said. The production and shipment of Nvidia’s GB200 chips and the anticipated launch of GB300 chips in the second half of the year would propel
The battle for artificial intelligence supremacy hinges on microchips, but the semiconductor sector that produces them has a dirty secret: It is a major source of chemicals linked to cancer and other health problems. Global chip sales surged more than 19 percent to about US$628 billion last year, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association, which forecasts double-digit growth again this year. That is adding urgency to reducing the effects of “forever chemicals” — which are also used to make firefighting foam, nonstick pans, raincoats and other everyday items — as are regulators in the US and Europe who are beginning to
RSS