Gu Guomin
Gu Guomin (1924–2010) was a Hong Kong shipping entrepreneur and philanthropist. He was originally from Zhenhai, Zhejiang. From 1980 to 1981, he served as chairman of the Hong Kong Shipowners Association.[1]
Family
Gu was born in 1924 in Zhenhai County, Ningbo, Zhejiang (now Beilun District).[2] He came from the prominent Daqi Head Gu shipping family. His father was Gu Zongrui and his mother was Zhou Cuiyu.[3] He was the eldest son in the family and had two younger brothers, Gu Guohua and Gu Guohe, who were also Hong Kong entrepreneurs, and one sister, Gu Lizhen, who was the maternal aunt of Hong Kong’s first Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa.[1] He had a son, Gu Jian'an.[4]
Biography
In his early years, he moved to Shanghai for education and life.[2] He joined the family business and worked at the Shanghai Taichangxiang Steamship Company.[1]
In 1949, he relocated to Hong Kong and continued to operate the family’s shipping business. When he first arrived in Hong Kong, he reportedly had only 500 dollars in his pocket.[1] He later established Hong Kong Man Lee Steamship Company. By the early 21st century, the company had a market value exceeding HK$4 billion.[1] At its peak, the group owned 15 ocean-going vessels.
Gu advocated the practice of "Hong Kong ships flying the Hong Kong flag" and, in 1991, led the way by registering his newly built oil tanker, **Haiying**, under the Hong Kong flag. It became the first oil tanker in Hong Kong’s shipping history to do so.[2]
On March 13, 2010, he passed away at Hong Kong's Hong Kong Sanatorium & Hospital at the age of 87.[1]
Business Philosophy
- "Caution keeps a ship afloat for ten thousand years." (慎行可保萬年船)[1]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%A1%BE%E5%9B%BD%E6%95%8F#cite_ref-Gu_1-0
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%A1%BE%E5%9B%BD%E6%95%8F#cite_ref-Gu_life_2-0
- ↑ Obituary of Zhou Cuiyu. Wah Kiu Yat Po. 1974-04-12. Page 2, Sheet 3.
- ↑ https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%A1%BE%E5%9B%BD%E6%95%8F#cite_ref-Gu_shipping_4-0