HKR International's Victor Cha Mou Zing wins Executive of the Year Award for Real Estate

The deputy chairman led the company’s pioneering work in innovating living spaces.

Victor Cha Mou Zing, deputy chairman and managing director of HKR International Limited, bagged the Executive of the Year Award for Real Estate at the Hong Kong Business Management Excellence Awards 2019.

Under his notable leadership, the company has grown into a conglomerate with diversified interests in property development and investment as well as hospitality and healthcare services in Hong Kong, Mainland China and all throughout Asia.

HKRI’s flagship project, the 650-hectare Discovery Bay, located in northeast Lantau in Hong Kong, was a barren piece of unused land when the Cha family acquired the lot 40 years ago. Over decades of sustainable development, Discovery Bay has become Asia’s first eco-friendly resort style residential town.

Since Victor Cha’s takeover in HKRI’s operation management in the late 1980s, innovation elements have been constantly instilled in the flagship project. These innovations include constructing Hong Kong’s first privately owned tunnel connecting external transportation, opening the resort hotel, Auberge, as well as building the country’s first white chapel by the sea, amongst others. Because of this, DB gained popularity; however, it never lost its serenity as a residential area. The unique project is now home for 20,000 people from different cultures and ethnicities.

Meanwhile, in Shanghai, Victor spearheaded the acquisition of the development rights of Dazhongli, an old residential area located in the centre of the city, in 2002.

With the long-term value of its prime location, the managing director transformed the property use to a purely commercial complex from residential, which results in speedy financial return. The once traditional residential area now houses multiple hotels, office towers and a shopping mall.

In 2017, the plot has been turned into a large-scale mixed-use complex HKRI Taikoo Hui, thanks to a joint venture with property developer Swire Properties. The project now houses hundreds of multinational and domestic tenants and has been considered Shanghai’s new lifestyle destination.

Victor Cha also headed the company’s expansion to hospitality during the early 1990s.

Sukhothai, HKRI’s signature hospitality brand, has been enjoying its stellar reputation and popularity for almost 30 years in Bangkok. Meanwhile, The Sukhothai Shanghai, its sister hotel, debuted in China with its consistent high-quality service and amiable aesthetics.

Other than Auberge Discovery Bay, HKRI also developed high-end club houses for targeted groups, including DB Golf Club, which has 27 holes, as well as the world-renowned Lantau Yacht Club, which will be launched in 2020 after its renovation.

In 2000, Victor Cha led the establishment of a healthcare arm under GenRx, which provided specialist, dental and Chinese medical services in Hong Kong and Macau. He also successfully built Healthway Medical, a clinic network of general practice and wellness management in Manila.

The deputy chairman is also involved in social services. He is the Chairman of the Hong Kong Arts Festival and Hong Kong Trade Development Council’s Hong Kong-Japan Business Co-operation Committee. His contributions to the industry and society have garnered him multiple awards, including Real Estate Leader of the Year, CSR Character 2018 and Charity Person of The Year.

Victor Cha boasts over 35 years of real estate experience and has been known as one of the pioneers of creating inventive living spaces.

The Hong Kong Business Management Excellence Awards was held on 21 November at Island Shangri-La Hong Kong. The awards aims to honour the city's most outstanding business leaders, including noteworthy individuals and teams whose initiatives have brought tangible business gains for their company's operations.

The 2019 nominees were judged by a panel consisting of Charbon Lo, Director at Crowe (HK) CPA Limited; Roy Lo Managing Partner at SHINEWING (HK) CPA Limited; Anthony Tam, Executive Director of Tax Advisory Services, Mazars Hong Kong; Andrew Ross, Managing Director at Baker Tilly Hong Kong; and Eugene Liu, Managing Partner at RSM Hong Kong.

If you would like to join the 2020 awards and be lauded as one of the most outstanding management executives of Hong Kong, please email [email protected].