Frederick Ma Si-hang is a Hong Kong politician and administrator who was chairman of the
MTR Corporation from 2015 to 2019.
As a former
Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development
The Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development heads the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau of the Hong Kong Government. The Secretary is responsible for promoting commerce and the economic development of Hong Kong. The position was c ...
of the
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta ...
, he was a popular figure with the public and with legislators of all parties. He is the cousin of entertainer
Eric Tsang[Tsang Kai-wing dies aged 94 after 35 years as corruption fugitive, SCMP, Danny Mok, 19 January 2011] and uncle of evangelist
Jaeson Ma
Jaeson Ma (Traditional Chinese characters, Chinese: 馬正遠; pinyin: Mǎ Zhēngyuǎn; born November 11, 1980) is an American serial entrepreneur, artist, and media executive. He is the founder of the east-west talent, brand strategy & investme ...
.
Biography
Ma was born the eldest of four children on 22 February 1952, and his father died when Ma was in his teens. He attended
New Method College
New Method College (abbreviated to NMC) was a secondary school located in Black Rock Hill, Kowloon City District, Hong Kong. Its stated mission was "to recognise each student as an individual".http://www.nmc.edu.hk/c_mission/mission.html Miss ...
in
Tai Hang
Tai Hang () is an area southeast of Causeway Bay located in the mid-north of Hong Kong Island in Hong Kong. It is home to many luxurious private apartments. Residents are predominantly more affluent Hong Kong locals and expatriate profession ...
, where his academic results were "less than fantastic". However, whilst there, he won an inter-school project for Hong Kong tourism.
He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and History with Third-class Honours at the
University of Hong Kong.
He graduated in 1973, dreaming of working for
Cathay Pacific
Cathay Pacific Airways Limited (CPA), more widely known as Cathay Pacific (), is the flag carrier of Hong Kong, with its head office and main hub located at Hong Kong International Airport. The airline's operations and subsidiaries have sc ...
. As he was due to attend a second interview with the airline,
Chase Manhattan made an offer with a promised starting salary of HK$1,600. He accepted the job with the bank, and was relocated to New York three years later.
[ At 27, he became Group Head of Chase Manhattan, in charge of institutional banking. After Chase, he became Chief Financial Officer of PCCW.
]
Government years
Giving up an annual salary of in excess of HK$
The Hong Kong dollar (, sign: HK$; code: HKD) is the official currency of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. It is subdivided into 100 cents or 1000 mils. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority is the monetary authority of Hong Kong ...
10 million, Ma joined the government as a 'cabinet-level' political appointee under the Principal Officials Accountability System
Principal Officials Accountability System, commonly referred to as the Ministerial system (), sometimes the Accountability System, was introduced in Hong Kong by chief executive Tung Chee Hwa in July 2002. It is a system whereby all principal ...
since 1 July 2002.
Ma declared himself to be a Christian in 2002, and was affectionately known in Hong Kong as "Fat Ma" because of his portly physique.
He served as Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
The Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, head of Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau of the Hong Kong Government, is responsible for the monitoring of financial services sector and maintaining the assets of the government. ...
for a term of five years. In 2007, after Donald Tsang re-elected as Chief Executive of Hong Kong
The Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is the representative of the Hong Kong Special administrative regions of China, Special Administrative Region and head of government, head of the Government of Hong Kong. The ...
, Ma continued in SAR government, served as Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development
The Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development heads the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau of the Hong Kong Government. The Secretary is responsible for promoting commerce and the economic development of Hong Kong. The position was c ...
. On 24 June 2008, Ma resigned from the government for health reasons. He was diagnosed with "cavernous hemangioma
Cavernous hemangioma, also called cavernous angioma, venous malformation, or cavernoma, is a type of venous malformation due to endothelial dysmorphogenesis from a lesion which is present at birth. A cavernoma in the brain is called a cerebral ...
" and " venous angioma" (blood vessel tumours) in the brain.
Subsequent years
In October 2008, Ma took up an honorary professorship at the School of Economics and Finance at the University of Hong Kong. During his time out, he took up a regime of exercise and lost 17 pounds, to finally weigh 180 pounds.[
In 2009, he was invited to the International Advisory Council of the Chinese sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corporation. He was awarded a Gold Bauhinia Star.] It was announced in early November that Ma had been named the new non-executive chairman of China Strategic Holdings ; Raymond Or
Raymond Or Ching-fai (), SBS, JP (born 1949 in Xiamen, Fujian, China) is the Vice-Chairman of G-Resources Group ( and the Vice-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of China Strategic Group (), and the chairman of Esprit Holdings.
He was the ...
was named the company's vice-chairman and CEO. The company's shares, which were suspended pending the announcement, closed 78 percent higher when they were relisted.
Ma was appointed Justice of the Peace in 2010.[
In July 2015, Ma was named the chairman of the MTR Corporation, a position he held until 2019.] He became chairman of the Education University of Hong Kong's governing council on 25 April 2017, by appointment of the Chief Executive
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
. His three-year term expired in 2020.
References
Academic offices information was obtained from
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ma, Frederick
1952 births
Hong Kong evangelicals
Living people
Alumni of the University of Hong Kong
Alumni of St. John's College, University of Hong Kong
Government officials of Hong Kong
Members of the Executive Council of Hong Kong
Hong Kong financial businesspeople
MTR Corporation
Agricultural Bank of China people