Press Releases

Chairman and Mrs Lui Che-woo, Deputy Chairman Tung Chee-hwa, Deputy Director Yin Xiaojing, friends of K. Wah Group and guests, 

Good evening. I am very delighted to be able to attend this celebration of the 60th anniversary of K. Wah Group with you today. We have a great turnout today and we have just been shown certain important projects in the past development of Hong Kong, which K. Wah Group has participated in. They have inspired a thought in me. 

Let’s say, if we had somehow been able to place a large video recorder high above Hong Kong 60 years ago, using it to capture the topography, landscape and urban development of Hong Kong since then and playing these footages here today in fast-forward mode, I am sure it will portrait a most exciting, majestic picture of a thriving community. 

If we do have such a video tape, in the front part we would see how Dr Lui Che-woo founded K. Wah Group 60 years ago, the asphalt and concrete plants he ran in the Anderson Road Quarry, and the construction materials business he built thereupon. This is where K. Wah was born, the origin of the business of K. Wah Group which has soared in tandem with Hong Kong’s economy and urban development.

From a wider still angle of the recorder above Hong Kong, we are able to see that K. Wah reaching out from Hong Kong and becoming an international corporation not long after the commencement of its business 60 years ago. As its businesses flourished and diversified, including developments in Mainland China during the early years of its reform and opening to support its development and make contributions in response to the call of the nation. Here, we see K. Wah Group expanding from construction materials to property development, hospitality as well as entertainment and leisure businesses to become a major force in Hong Kong’s economic activities.

During the past 60 years, K. Wah has provided a driving force in Hong Kong’s urban construction. Together with other developers in Hong Kong, K. Wah has contributed to the safer, more comfortable and more convenient life we are enjoying today. In the footage I mentioned earlier, we can also see the changing landscape of Hong Kong, massive land reclamation and an ever-shifting coastline in tandem with land expansion. We would also see the construction of many infrastructure projects, including our railways, bridges, tunnels and residential areas, with the erection of numerous community facilities. In all these, K. Wah Group has played a part and made contributions during the past 60 years.

This year, Dr Lui established the LUI Che Woo Prize - Prize for World Civilisation to commemorate the 60th anniversary of K. Wah Group. In my view, the inauguration of the prize in Hong Kong by a Chinese, at a time when our nation is rising to prominence in a national revival, to exemplify individuals and groups that have made contributions to the development of world civilisation is something that we Chinese in general, and Chinese in Hong Kong in particular, cannot emphasise enough, and something that we should be thankful for.

Therefore, I am extremely delighted to be here to attend this gala event with you all. This year is a year of double happiness for Dr Lui, as represented by the 60th anniversary of K. Wah Group and the inauguration of the Prize for World Civilisation.

Looking ahead, more major construction projects will be undertaken in Hong Kong, such as the development of our new townships, our road development strategy and the construction of infrastructure linking Hong Kong and Mainland China. Someday, let’s say 30 years from now, the construction projects that have already been planned, such as those I have just mentioned, be them new township development or infrastructure works, will worth thousands of billions in aggregate. I very much look forward to K. Wah Group’s continued participation in future, together with other companies in Hong Kong and the SAR Government, in projects that seek to build Hong Kong into a better place.

Once again, may I extend my sincere well wishes for K. Wah Group at its 60th anniversary. I hope that the people of K. Wah will continue with their fine efforts and lay a strong foundation for the next 60 years to deliver evermore splendid achievements. Thank you.