Chow Tai Fook group is a Hong Kong–based, privately owned conglomerate with holdings in the jewellery, property development, hotel, department store, transportation, energy, telecommunications, port, casino, and other businesses. Despite the holding companies of the group, namely Chow Tai Fook Capital Limited, Chow Tai Fook (Holding) Limited, Chow Tai Fook Enterprises Limited, etc. being privately owned, the group has been partially listed on the stock market via associate company New World Development (, listed since 1972) and subsidiary Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group Limited (, listed since 2011). As of 31 December 2018, New World Development was ranked as the 47th-largest company by market capitalisation on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong, which was HK$105.7 billion.
However, the size of the unlisted portions of the Chow Tai Fook business empire is unclear. The Financial Times quoted one banker of the Cheng Yu-tung family, who said, "You can't look at [Cheng] YT without looking at the private side of the business and his ability to spot early investment opportunities". Notable unlisted businesses of the group include Rosewood Hotel Group, as well as Australia-based Alinta Energy and the Loy Yang B power station, which were acquired in 2017.
Chow Tai Fook Capital is owned by the descendants of the late Chow Tai Fook Jewellery founder Chow Chi-yuen () and his son-in-law, the late Cheng Yu-tung, which includes the current Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group chairman, Chow Tai Fook (Holding) director Henry Cheng.
History The Chow Tai Fook group began with the Chow Tai Fook jewellery store, founded by Chow Chi-yuen in 1929 in Guangzhou, China. The store shifted its business to Portuguese Macau in 1940 (some say 1931) and then to British Hong Kong after the breakout of the Second Sino-Japanese War in the 1930s and the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949. The group returned to mainland China after the market reforms of the 1980s, notably as New World Department Store China and former listed company New World China Land.
Cheng Yu-tung took over the business empire from his father-in-law Chow Chi-yuen in 1956. In the 1960s, Chow's son Stephen Chow Shue-tong (), an architect, helped found Chow Tai Fook group's real estate division, which in 1972 would be listed as New World Development. After the outbreak of the 1967 leftist riots, Stephen Chow emigrated to Canada., among several sons of Chow who left Hong Kong. Cheng built the group into a diversified empire, with interests in jewellery retailing, real estate, hotels, transportation, public utilities and other businesses. In 1961, Chow Tai Fook Jewellery built a residential building at 265–275 Tai Nan Street, Sham Shui Po, Kowloon. The building was also named after Tai Fook (). The group, via Chow Tai Fook Enterprises, also made private investments in real estate and hotels.
One of the main holding companies of the group, Chow Tai Fook Enterprises Limited, was incorporated on 10 August 1966 in British Hong Kong, while the flagship listed company New World Development Company Ltd was incorporated in 1970 in Hong Kong. The jewellery store chain was incorporated as Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Company Ltd in 1961 in British Hong Kong, and a new holding company for the jewellery division was incorporated in the Cayman Islands and listed in the Hong Kong SAR as Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group Ltd in 2011.
As of 2018, the group also consists of two more parent companies in the group structure, namely Chow Tai Fook Capital Limited and its subsidiary Chow Tai Fook (Holding) Limited. They were incorporated in the British Virgin Islands. Chow Tai Fook (Holding) is the parent company of Chow Tai Fook Enterprises and Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group.
Subsidiaries and affiliates The Chow Tai Fook group, via Chow Tai Fook (Holding) Limited (incorporated in the British Virgin Islands) and Chow Tai Fook Enterprises Limited (incorporated in Hong Kong), owned two listed companies as the significant shareholder: Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group Limited (, incorporated in the Cayman Islands; 89.3%) and New World Development Company Limited (; 44.39%). New World Development also owned a few listed second-tier subsidiaries (with regard to Chow Tai Fook Enterprises), such as New World Department Store China, NWS Holdings, etc. New World China Land, another second-tier subsidiary, was a listed company until its privatization by New World Development in 2016. The privatisation of listed second-tier subsidiary New World Department Store China by New World Development was not approved by the minority shareholders in 2017. Another second-tier listed subsidiary, New World Hotels (Holdings), was privatized by New World Development and Chow Tai Fook Enterprises in 1990.
New World Development is a constituent of the Hong Kong blue-chip Hang Seng Index. Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group, as of 13 October 2016, was the world's second-largest jeweller by [total] market capitalization.
Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group Chow Tai Fook Jewellery is a jewellery store and gold shop ( ) founded by Chow Chi-yuen in 1929 in Guangzhou, China. His son-in-law Cheng Yu-tung took over the business in 1956 and their descendants continue to own the business today. Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Company Limited () was the core company of the store chain. It was incorporated in British Hong Kong in 1961. The brand is popular in the Chinese-speaking world, according to a research by CLSA. The store has retail outlets in several countries, including over 6,800 retail outlets in mainland China.
Cheng invented gold with 99.99% purity as a product of Chow Tai Fook Jewellery, which became a standard for industry peers in Hong Kong. In 1964, Chow Tai Fook Jewellery acquired a license for purchasing diamonds from De Beers, the monopoly supplier at that time. It was reported that 30% of diamond imports into Hong Kong in the 1970s were purchased by Chow Tai Fook.
In 1960s, Chow Tai Fook established another brand () in a building of the same name (, in ) in Central. Manning House became one of the rental properties of the jeweller's sister company New World Development's portfolio in the 1970s.
In 1971, Chow Tai Fook Jewellery introduced ornaments made of vitreous enamel. It was credited as a new industry of Hong Kong at that time.
In 1989, Chow Tai Fook Jewellery broke the record for the highest price paid for a rough diamond. The company paid US$10 million for a diamond weighing 255.61 carats.
By September 2010, the chain had 1,000 stores in mainland China, including franchisees and its own outlets. Chow Tai Fook Jewellery has played a leading role in its market segment since it foundation, especially since 1997.
In 2010, Chow Tai Fook Jewellery purchased Cullinan Heritage, a 507-carat diamond, for US$35.3 million, setting a new record for the highest price paid for a rough diamond.
On 15 December 2011, the jewellery division of Chow Tai Fook group, under new holding company Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group Ltd, was listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong at a price of HK$15 per share under the stock code (ticker symbol) 1929, the year of establishment of the chain.
On 4 April 2017, according to Sotheby's, Chow Tai Fook (the press release claimed it was jeweller Chow Tai Fook but Financial Times, quoting a Sotheby's tweet, reported it as Chow Tai Fook Enterprises) acquired the Pink Star diamond at an auction in Hong Kong for US$71.2 million (HK$553 million).
On 23 May 2018, the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) partnered with Chow Tai Fook on a pilot program that will use blockchain to deliver digital diamond-grading reports.
On 17 January 2020, Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group acquired the natural-coloured gem specialist ENZO.
As at 31 December 2024, the group had 7,065 points of sale in total, including 6,904 POS in mainland China and 161 combined in Hong Kong & Macau of China and other markets. The Group closed a net of 281 POS during the 3Q of FY2025. *"shop-in-shop"/"counter-in-shop” excluded
Incidents Chow Tai Fook Jewellery has fallen victim to major crime a number of times. In 1966, diamonds worth HK$1.23 million at that time, were stolen during transport from South Africa. In 1974, diamonds worth HK$250,000 were stolen from the staff of Chow Tai Fook Jewellery in Manning House, Central, Hong Kong. In 1980 and 1981, the Kowloon City branch was hit twice by armed robberies. The thieves also injured a staff member of the jewellery store and a student walking nearby in the second robbery. In 1985, in front of the Kowloon City branch, a gunfight broke out between the Royal Hong Kong Police and the robbers, in which a policeman was injured. On the same day, a man with a gunshot wound arrived at the hospital, who was suspected to be one of the robbers. In 1989, armed robbers disguised as customers stole luxury watches from the branch. It was reported the watches had a worth of HK$5 million at that time. In 1991, the Kowloon City branch suffered another armed robbery, followed by the robbery of the branch in Central in September and again in October 1991. In 1998 another branch in Paterson Street, Causeway Bay was robbed by . Kwai Ping-hung, who was also involved in other crime where he was deemed Hong Kong's most wanted man.
In recent years, however, the company has seldom experienced armed robberies. Notorious robbers Yip Kai Foon and Kwai Ping-hung were arrested in 1996 and 2003, respectively.
New World Development
New World Development is one of the leading property developers based in Hong Kong. It has been listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange since 23 November 1972. The initial public offering price was HK$2, issuing about 96.75 million of new shares. The shares were initially traded in 3 out of the 4 exchanges of Hong Kong, namely the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, and Kam Ngan Stock Exchange, the predecessors of the current Stock Exchange of Hong Kong.
As of 2018, New World Development is the parent company of listed companies NWS Holdings (, listed since 1997), New World Department Store China (, listed since 2007) and former listed companies New World Hotels (Holdings) (acquired in 1976, privatized in 1990), and New World China Land (listed in 1999, privatized in 2016). New World Development also owned former listed companies NW China Investment (listed in Ireland, privatized), New World Infrastructure (listed in 1995, privatized as New World TMT), and Renaissance Hotel Group (listed in 1995, sold in 1997).
As of 1986, Chow Tai Fook Enterprises (CTFE) owned 466,927,948 shares in New World Development, or about 43% of the issued share capital. As of 2018, CTFE still owned 44.41% shares of NWD, or 4,535,634,444 shares.
New World Development started its expansion in the 1970s with the acquisition of numerous properties and companies. The flagship property, New World Centre was built on the former site of Holt's Wharf, a former godown terminal that was owned by British companies Swire Group and Blue Funnel Line. In the first financial year after the initial public offering in November 1972, NWD had acquired 23 sites by paying HK$110 million in cash, and about 101 million new shares with a par value of HK$1 each. The issue of new shares and the acquisitions of the holding companies of properties such as Kowloon Town Development Company Limited (not to be confused with Kowloon Development Company) were completed in the 1973–74 financial year. The company also formed joint ventures with fellow developer Sun Hung Kai Properties (SHK) and non-profit organisation Tung Wah Group of Hospitals. Kwok Tak-seng, patriarch of SHK, also served as a director of New World Development from the 1970s until his death in 1990.