Hong Kong's richest woman loses US$6b as casino firm crashes

The losses began after authorities warned that the shares were concentrated amongst a small stockholder group.

According to Bloomberg, Pollyanna Chu lost her title as Hong Kong’s wealthiest woman after her company, Kingston Financial Group Ltd., became Asia’s worst performer in 2018.

Chu’s wealth, worth nearly US$12b as of January, was slashed by US$6b as the stock market crashed. Kingston Financial has plunged by 50% ever since Hong Kong’s securities regulator warned investors that the firm’s shares were “overly concentrated amongst a small number of stockholders.”

The firm operates businesses which involve Macau casinos and margin lending. For its financing, the firm relies largely on “unsecured loans provided cheaply by Chu and her family,” according to January analysis from activist investor David Webb.

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