Antony Leung facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Antony Leung Kam-chung GBS, OBE, JP
梁錦松
2nd Financial Secretary of Hong Kong
In office 29 May 2001 – 16 July 2003
Preceded by	Donald Tsang
Succeeded by	Henry Tang
Personal details
Born	(1952-01-29) 29 January 1952 (age 73) British Hong Kong
Spouse	Fu Mingxia
Alma mater	Ying Wa College University of Hong Kong
Occupation	Politician, investment banker
Signature

Antony Leung Kam-chung was born in Hong Kong on January 29, 1952. He is a well-known businessman. He also served as the Financial Secretary for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). This important role meant he was in charge of Hong Kong's money matters. He held this position from May 29, 2001, until he resigned on July 16, 2003.

In early 2003, Mr. Leung faced a lot of questions. This happened after he bought an expensive car just before a new tax on cars was announced. People worried this was a conflict of interest. This event led to him being called "Lexus Leung." It also led to his resignation later that year.

Today, Mr. Leung is the Chairman of Nan Fung Group. He is also a chairman and co-founder of New Frontier Group.

Education and Learning

Antony Leung grew up and went to school in Hong Kong. He attended Ying Wa College for his high school education. Later, he studied at The University of Hong Kong. There, he earned a degree in Social Sciences, focusing on economics and statistics.

During his time at university, he was very active in student groups. He was also interested in political issues. He continued his studies at Harvard Business School in 1982 and again in 1999. In 1998, he received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree. This was from The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

His Career Journey

Mr. Leung began his career in banking. He started as a currency trader. He worked for 23 years at Citicorp. During this time, he held important management jobs in different types of banking. He worked in Hong Kong, New York, Singapore, and Manila.

He moved up to senior leadership roles at major international banks in Hong Kong. In 1996, he joined Chase Manhattan Corporation. He became the Asia-Pacific chairman there. He was in charge of the Asia-Pacific operations for J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.. He left J.P. Morgan to become Hong Kong's Financial Secretary.

Before becoming Financial Secretary, he helped the public in many ways. He was a member of the Executive Council from 1997 to 2001. He also led the Education Commission from 1998 to 2001. In this role, he worked on improving education in Hong Kong.

As Financial Secretary

Antony Leung became the Financial Secretary on May 1, 2001. This job meant he was responsible for Hong Kong's finances.

One of his first big ideas was to cut the salaries of government workers. He suggested a 4.5% cut in 2001. Many people disagreed with this idea. So, the cut was made smaller, between 1.8% and 2.3%. The government also planned more small cuts for 2005 and 2006.

He also believed the government should balance its budget by 2006–07. This means the government would not spend more money than it collected. He thought this was important to keep the economy stable. He suggested cutting spending in different areas, including money for universities.

In September 2002, new HK$10 notes were released. These new paper notes helped solve a problem with fake 10-dollar coins. The new notes had about 10 special features to make them harder to copy.

By the end of 2002, he also looked into a problem with "penny stocks." These are very cheap shares of companies. He led a small team to investigate what happened.

Harbour Fest Event

After the SARS outbreak, Hong Kong's economy needed help. Mr. Leung was in charge of finding ways to make it stronger. He received money from the government to start new projects. One of these was the "Harbour Fest."

This event was a series of concerts and shows. It was meant to bring people back to Hong Kong and boost the economy. However, after Mr. Leung resigned, there were problems with how the Fest was managed. There were issues with arranging for famous artists like the Rolling Stones. There were also questions about how the government worked with the American Chamber of Commerce, which helped organize the event.

CEPA Agreement

Before he resigned, Mr. Leung signed an important agreement. It was called the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA). This agreement was made with mainland China. Many believed it would help Hong Kong's economy recover from a difficult period.

The "Lexusgate" Issue and Resignation

In January 2003, Mr. Leung faced strong criticism. He had bought an expensive Lexus car for about HK$790,000. This happened just weeks before he announced a new tax increase on new cars. The new tax would have made his car purchase much more expensive.

Mr. Leung said he decided on the tax increase after buying the car. He explained his family needed a bigger car because his first child was born in February. However, he did not tell the Executive Council about his car purchase. This made people question if he was being fair. This event became known as Lexusgate. It caused many people to lose trust in the Hong Kong government.

Because of the public's strong reaction, he tried to fix the situation. He donated money to a local charity called the Community Chest. He also offered to resign in March, but the Chief Executive, Tung Chee-hwa, did not accept it then.

On July 16, 2003, Mr. Leung resigned from his position. This happened after large public protests. These protests were about a proposed new law and other economic problems. His resignation came just hours after another top official also stepped down.

Back to Private Business

After leaving government, Antony Leung returned to the business world. He became the chairman of Blackstone Group's office in Asia. He still advises Blackstone and is part of its international advisory board.

Since February 2014, Mr. Leung has been the chairman of Nan Fung Group. This is a large company in Hong Kong that deals with property and finance.

He is also the chairman and co-founder of New Frontier Group. This company invests in healthcare, education, and internet businesses.

Mr. Leung is also involved in charity work. He serves as the chairman of the board for Heifer International's Hong Kong branch.

See also

• List of graduates of University of Hong Kong
• Politics of Hong Kong