Hong Kong entrepreneur donates £500k to help Napier students

A Hong Kong entrepreneur has invested £500k into Edinburgh Napier University, to help students from China, Hong Kong and Macau study there.

Dr Lawrence Ho's fund will also be open to applications for Edinburgh-based students wishing to study abroad for a semester, or a full year. This is the second donation Dr Ho has made to Napier University, the largest UK provider of international education in Hong Kong.

Professor Dame Joan Stringer, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of Edinburgh Napier University, said: “Today’s graduates are faced with a highly competitive jobs market where standing out from the crowd has never been more important.

“This very generous gift gives students both in Scotland and in China, Macau and Hong Kong the chance to benefit from a once in a lifetime opportunity to study and work abroad, and will help further grow the economic, educational and cultural ties between the two countries.

“The fund will also allow us to increase our business and education collaborations in a region we have operating in for over 20 years now, producing thousands of graduates who have contributed to the economy and long term prosperity of Hong Kong.”

Edinburgh Napier University announced the launch of The Lawrence Ho Scholarship and Research Fund at a ceremony in Hong Kong on Thursday 2 April. The launch was attended by the Principal, Professor Dame Joan K Stringer, Sir David K P Li and Dr Lawrence Ho.

Hospitality management student Rosalynn Dinnen spoke of the benefits she personally experienced from previous money donated by Dr Ho: “I am now undertaking a PhD in Hospitality and Tourism and I hope to focus on the various aspects of Human Resource Management with the approval of Mr Ho [sic].

“As I won the Lawrence Ho award, I have decided to do my case study on Mr Ho’s organization, Melco International Development Limited, located in Macau on the southeast of China. I hope to go out to Macau early next year for six months to work with the Vice President of Melco.”

Dr Ho is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Hong Kong-listed Melco International Development Limited, and was elected as one of the “Ten Outstanding Young Persons” in 2006.

Dr Ho is the son of the Honourable Dr Stanley Ho, one of the richest men in Asia, who held the monopoly on gambling in Macau for several decades before deregulation of the gaming industry in 2002.

Dr Lawrence Ho built his first large casino in 2007, followed in 2009 by a major casino resort during a boom in casino construction that has seen the tiny special administrative region become the biggest gambling destination in the world.