Sir Po-shing Woo, LLD, FCIArb, FIMgt, FInstD, FHKMA (, born 19 April 1929) is a Hong Kong solicitor, entrepreneur, politician and philanthropist.

Biography

Woo was born on 19 April 1929 in Hong Kong to a wealthy family of Seaward Woo and Ng Chiu-man. He was educated at the

La Salle College La Salle College (LSC) (, Demonym: Lasallian) is a boys' secondary school in Hong Kong. It was established in 1932 by the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, a Roman Catholic religious teaching order founded by St. John Ba ...

and King's College of London. He was admitted to practice as solicitor in England and in Hong Kong in 1960 and became Notary Public in 1966. He founded the Woo Kwan Lee & Lo, Solicitors and Notaries in 1963 and was the consultant of the law firm. In 1983, he was admitted to practice as barrister and solicitor at the Supreme Court of Victoria in Australia. He is also consultant of Jackson Woo & Associates, his son's firm. Besides his law career, he had been chairman of the Kailey Enterprises Limited and the Kailey Development Limited, director of the major real estate developers in Hong Kong including the

Sun Hung Kai Properties Sun Hung Kai Properties Limited (SHKP; ) is a listed corporation and the largest property developer in Hong Kong as of 2019. The company is controlled by the Kwok family trust, largely the Kwok brothers. The Kwok family trust was set up by Kw ...

and

Henderson Land Development Henderson Land Development Co. Ltd. () is a listed property developer in Hong Kong and a constituent of the Hang Seng Index. The company's principal activities are property development and investment, project management, construction, hotel op ...

from 29 May 1981 to 29 February 2012 and 40 other companies. He was first elected to the

Urban Council of Hong Kong The Urban Council (UrbCo) was a municipal council in Hong Kong responsible for municipal services on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon (including New Kowloon). These services were provided by the council's executive arm, the Urban Services ...

in the 1967 election for the

Reform Club of Hong Kong The Reform Club of Hong Kong was one of the oldest political organisations in Hong Kong, existing from 1949 until the mid-1990s. Established by expatriates who were concerned about the Young Plan proposed by Governor Mark Aitchison Young in 1 ...

and served until 1971. He was appointed by the government member of the Board of Review Inland Revenue from 1978 to 1981, Staff Provident Fund and Staff Retirement Scheme from 1996 to 2002. Woo was member of the

Institute of Administrative Management The Institute of Administrative Management (IAM) is an awarding organisation and professional body for practising and aspiring administrative and business managers. They support students and members across 58 countries worldwide. Topics Admini ...

and Institute of Trade Mark Agents. He also founded the Woo Po Shing Medal in Law in 1982 and the Woo Po Shing Overseas Summer School Travelling Scholariship in 1983 at the

University of Hong Kong The University of Hong Kong (HKU) (Chinese: 香港大學) is a public research university in Hong Kong. Founded in 1887 as the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese, it is the oldest tertiary institution in Hong Kong. HKU was also the f ...

to support the students studying the Bachelor of Laws. Among others he also founded the Po-Shing Woo Charitable Foundation since 1994 and Woo Po Shing Professor (Chair) of Chinese and Comparative Law at the

City University of Hong Kong City University of Hong Kong (CityU) is a world-class public research university located in Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong. It was founded in 1984 as City Polytechnic of Hong Kong and became a fully accredited university in 1994. Currently, CityU is ...

in 1995. He is former member of the Board of Trustees and the Council of the University of Hong Kong, voting member of the

Hong Kong Jockey Club The Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) is one of the oldest institutions in Hong Kong, having been founded in 1884. In 1959, it was granted a Royal Charter and renamed The Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club (). The institution reverted to its original name ...

Po Leung Kuk The Po Leung Kuk, founded as the Society for the Protection of Women and Children, is a charitable organisation in Hong Kong that provides support for orphaned children, education and other services. History In the late 19th century, abd ...

Advisory Board,

Tung Wah Group of Hospitals The Tung Wah Group of Hospitals (), with a history dating back to 1870, is the oldest and largest charitable organisation in Hong Kong. It provides extensive education and community services through 194 service centres spread across Hong Kong. ...

, legal adviser for the Chinese Gold and Silver Exchange Society, honorary president and legal adviser for the

South China Athletic Association South China Athletic Association (known simply as South China, SCAA, ) is a Hong Kong professional football club that competes in the Hong Kong First Division, the second-tier league in Hong Kong football league system. The club is histor ...

, patron of Woo Po Shing Gallery of Chinese Bronze at the Shanghai Museum, the Sir Po-Shing Woo Auckland Observatory Building in the Auckland Observatory and honorary professor of the Nankai University in Tianjin. He is the fellow of the Institute of Management,

Institute of Directors The Institute of Directors (IoD) is a British professional organisation for company directors, senior business leaders and entrepreneurs. It is the UK's longest running organisation for professional leaders, having been founded in 1903 and incor ...

, the King's College,

London University The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree- ...

and Hong Kong Management Association. He received

Legum Doctor Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation refers to the ear ...

s from the City University of Hong Kong and is part of the world fellowship of the

Duke of Edinburgh's Award The Duke of Edinburgh's Award (commonly abbreviated DofE) is a youth awards programme founded in the United Kingdom in 1956 by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, that has since expanded to 144 nations. The awards recognise adolescents and young ...

. Woo married to Helen Woo Fong Shuet-fun in 1956 and they have four sons and one daughter. His hobbies include travelling, antiques collecting including Chinese paintings, bronze and ceramic and he is also a racehorse owner including

Hong Kong Derby The Hong Kong Derby is a Hong Kong Thoroughbred horse race held annually since 1873. Restricted to horses four-years-old only since 1981, the race is run in mid-March and is the premier event on the domestic racing programme with a purse of HK$18 m ...

winners Helene Star and Helene Mascot. He was knighted by the UK government in 1999 and was awarded

Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres The ''Ordre des Arts et des Lettres'' (Order of Arts and Letters) is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is ...

by the French government in 2004 for his charitable services to the Arts.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Woo, Po-shing 1929 births Living people Alumni of King's College London Hong Kong businesspeople Hong Kong philanthropists Reform Club of Hong Kong politicians Solicitors of Hong Kong English solicitors Australian solicitors Australian barristers Members of the Urban Council of Hong Kong Knights Bachelor Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Henderson Land Development Sun Hung Kai Properties Fellows of King's College London