Lee Ho-wo

Harold Hsiao-Wo Lee was a Hong Kong businessman of Kaiping, Guangdong origin. He was the third son of Lee Hysan, founder of Hysan Development, and was one of the co-founders and the first chairman of the board of Television Broadcasts Limited (commonly known as TVB).

Biography

Lee was a member of the Lee Hysan family, but he also left the family business to co-found TVB. His other roles included Chairman of Lee Gardens Hotel, Director of Lee Hysan Estates (parent company of Hysan Development), Chairman of Union Soda Water Factory (predecessor of Kong Sun Holdings), Director of Cathay Pacific Airways, and Director of Shanghai Commercial Bank (subsidiary of Shanghai Commercial and Savings Bank).

Lee died at home of heart disease on 27 June 1980 at 12:45 a.m. His funeral was held at the Hong Kong Funeral Home at noon on 2 July, and he was buried at the Catholic Cemetery in Happy Valley. After his death, Run Run Shaw succeeded him as chairman of the board of TVB (until 2009). His widow, Lee Lo Ngan Kwan, then joined the board of TVB as a non-executive director (until 2012).

Family

His wife was Lo Ngan Kwan (1925–2022), respectfully referred to as "Mrs Harold Hsiao-Wo Lee". She served as a non-executive director of TVB for many years. Their son, Lee Hin Bun, was (as of 2017) a non-executive director of TVB, though he did not own shares in the company. His daughters Lee Wun Lin and Lee Hin Bun are also directors of Hysan Development (as of 2019). His eldest daughter, Lee Wun Mui, died of illness in 1957 at the age of 7.

Honors

• Eponyms
  • Caritas Harold H. W. Lee Care and Attention Home for the Elderly: Located at 17 Hong Pai Street, Sha Tin, New Territories, Hong Kong. The elderly home also includes the Lee Lo Ngan Kwan Building, which was blessed in November 2010.
  • The Harold Hsiao-Wo and Lo Ngan Kwan Exhibition Gallery, new wing of the Art Museum of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, adjacent to the original wing, inaugurated on 21 March 2025.