Hong Kong’s New World promotes Eric Ma to CEO, replacing Adrian Cheng after record loss

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Adrian Cheng Chi-kong stepped down as New World’s CEO, handing over to Eric Ma Siu-cheung the job that he had held for four years

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Eric Ma Siu-cheung, Chief Executive Officer of NWS Holdings, during the company’s 2019 interim results press conference at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai on 26 February 2019. Photo: Edmond So.

Salina LiandCheryl Arcibal

Published: 4:51pm, 26 Sep 2024Updated: 7:40pm, 26 Sep 2024

New World Development reported its biggest loss on record, as deficits from operations devastated the balance sheet of one of Hong Kong’s largest property-linked conglomerates and upended the succession plan of the company’s third-generation scion.

Adrian Cheng Chi-kong stepped down as New World’s CEO, handing over the job to chief operating officer (COO) Eric Ma Siu-cheung, after overseeing a loss of HK$19.7 billion (US$2.53 billion) in the financial year that ended in June. Revenue plunged 62 per cent to HK$35.78 billion, prompting New World to put HK$13 billion of noncore assets – including the Kai Tak Sports Park – on the block to pare debt.

Cheng will take on a non-executive role as vice-chairman, after four years as the heir apparent to his father, chairman and executive director Henry Cheng Kar-shun. New World was founded in 1970 by the late Cheng Yu-tung, Hong Kong’s jewellery magnate and Adrian’s grandfather.

“Third-generation successors of large family empires are typically under tremendous pressure, [especially] if they face economic headwinds, high expectations from family members and significant visibility in the business community,” said Marleen Dieleman, who leads family-business research at the IMD Business School in Singapore. “It is a difficult context to succeed in, no matter how talented one may be.”

Adrian Cheng attends a press conference on the Mega Events Economy at the Central Government offices in Tamar, Hong Kong in January. Photo: Edmond So

Cheng, born in 1979, was appointed as an executive director of New World in March 2007, before his promotion in May 2020 to executive vice-chairman and CEO, positions that put him next in line to take over the company.