Mr Daryl Ng, SBS, JP, is a Director of the Hong Kong Heritage Conservation Foundation, a Director of the Ng Teng Fong Charitable Foundation, Chairman of the Hong Kong Innovation Foundation as well as Deputy Chairman of Sino Group.
Mr Ng is a steadfast advocate of good causes for the betterment and sustainable development of the community. He is enthusiastic about supporting the youth, initiating an array of undertakings such as Go Code, Sino Junior Reporter Programme, Hospitality Young Leaders Programme to empower the young generations with essential skills.
Mr Ng leads efforts to conserve and celebrate culture and history, including Tai O Heritage Hotel in Hong Kong, the restoration of the Great Wall and Yanxi Gong (Palace of Prolonging Happiness) in Beijing, The Fullerton Heritage in Singapore and The Fullerton Hotel Sydney in Australia.
In 2008, the Ng Family set up the Hong Kong Heritage Conservation Foundation (HCF) to revitalise buildings and promote the appreciation of heritage conservation. Tai O Heritage Hotel, converted from the Old Tai O Police Station, a Grade II historic building completed in 1902, through Batch I of the Revitalising Historic Buildings Through Partnership Scheme of the Development Bureau of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), was opened in March 2012.
Conservation has been conducted in accordance with the Burra Charter, the authoritative guidelines, which stipulate that the new use should be compatible with the old use. Historical elements and details, such as the two-storey main block, outhouse extension, cannons, guard towers, temporary holding cells distinctive to the old Tai O Police Station have been carefully restored. It has been operated as a not-for-profit social enterprise with surplus used for maintaining the property.
Tai O Heritage Hotel is a committed member of the Tai O community, building close connections with the neighbourhood, and contributing to the sustainable development of the local economy through the provision of employment opportunities, engagement of local service providers, use of local culinary specialities and complimentary daily docent tours. In addition to providing complimentary daily docent tours, the hotel has participated in over 100 community programmes covering traditional festivities, cultural activities, shore clean-up and community services. Over half of its hotel’s staff members are Tai O or Lantau residents.
Since opening, the hotel has welcomed more than 1.7 million visitors from Hong Kong and around the world, and has received over 30 international and local accolades in recognition of its devotion to heritage conservation and engagement of the community. Notable example includes the Award of Merit at the UNESCO’s 2013 Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation, making it Hong Kong’s first UNESCO-awarded hotel.
In 2018, the ‘Tai O Stilt House Restoration Programme’ was initiated to subsidise the elderly in repairing and restoring stilt houses in order to preserve the unique cultural and architectural treasures. More than ten stilt houses have been restored since launch.
Mr Ng launched the Hospitality Young Leaders Programme in 2020, a meaningful initiative to nurture future leaders by providing comprehensive training in hospitality, eco-tourism and heritage conservation for aspiring Hong Kong graduates, enabling them to experience Hong Kong’s rich history and unique traditions first-hand.
The HKSAR Government awarded the Silver Bauhinia Star to him in 2021 in recognition of his contributions to the community, in particular his work on heritage in Tai O and overseas. He received the Jinghua Award from the Beijing Municipal Government in 2020 for his contributions to international cooperations and development of Beijing as a world-class city. He was honoured with the Insignia of Knight in the National Order of Merit by the French Government in 2021 in recognition of his contributions to heritage conservation and youth development.
He is also responsible for The Fullerton Hotel Singapore and The Fullerton Hotel Sydney, housed in heritage landmarks completed in 1928 and 1874 respectively. The former Fullerton Building was gazetted as Singapore’s 71st National Monument in December 2015.
Conservation efforts for the Great Wall and Yanxi Gong (Palace of Prolonging Happiness) in the Forbidden Palace have been coordinated through the Ng Teng Fong Charitable Foundation (NTFCF), set up in 2010 in memory of the late Mr Ng Teng Fong, founder of Sino Group. Over the years, it has pledged over RMB2 billion to support a wide spectrum of worthy causes. Since 2015, the NTFCF has supported over 3,000 students in Hong Kong and Mainland through the Ng Teng Fong Scholarships with amount exceeding HK$14 million.
The NTFCF has donated RMB100 million to the Palace Museum to support heritage research and conservation of the Yanxi Gong. Yanxi Gong is one of the Six Eastern Palaces in the inner zone of the Forbidden City, and a national treasure of architecture and culture. During the reign of Xuantong (1909-1911), construction of a western-style, three-storey building was initiated on the site of Yanxi Gong. Named Lingzhao Belvedere (also known as Crystal Palace or the Hall of Water), it is the only western style building in the Forbidden City. The construction illustrates cultural exchanges and traditional Chinese form of arts and architecture blends with Western style. Yanxi Gong was converted into the warehouse of antiques of Palace Museum in 1931. It will house the Gallery of Foreign Artefacts after restoration.
The NTFCF has donated RMB 10 million to the China Foundation for Cultural Heritage Conservation to support the repair of a 1,255-metre section of the Great Wall, including restoring numbers 67, 68 and 69 lookout towers and reinforcing side walls near these towers.
Mr Ng has initiated the ‘Ng Teng Fong / Sino Visits to the Great Wall for Hong Kong Youth’ project, which serves as a bridge connecting Hong Kong and Mainland to promote cultural exchanges and foster the sense of national identity by encouraging Hong Kong youth to participate in conservation work and understand Chinese culture and history.
Other major offices
- Sino Group, Deputy Chairman
- The Bank of East Asia, Limited, Non-Executive Director
- Hong Kong Innovation Foundation, Chairman
- Greater Bay Area Homeland Youth Community Foundation, Chairman
- Hong Kong-ASEAN Foundation, Chairman
- Ng Teng Fong Charitable Foundation, Director
- Hong Kong Heritage Conservation Foundation, Director
- Hong Kong Innovation Foundation, Chairman
- Hong Kong Community Foundation, Chairman
Public services
- UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation, Special Adviser
- Global Leadership Council of Columbia University in the City of New York, Member
- The 12th and 13th Beijing Municipal Committees of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, Member
- The 14th Beijing Municipal Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, Member of the Standing Committee
- Hong Kong United Youth Association, President
- Financial Services Development Council ASEAN Advisory Group, Convenor
- Financial Services Development Council Hong Kong Academy for Wealth Legacy, Member of the Board of Directors
- Council for Carbon Neutrality and Sustainable Development, Member
- Advisory Council on the Environment, Member
- Expert Group on Conservation for Sha Lo Tung of the Environment and Ecology Bureau, Member
- Culture Commission, Member
- Hong Kong Palace Museum, Member of the Board of Directors
- Steering Committee of the Research, Academic and Industry Sectors One-plus (RAISe+) Scheme of the Innovation and Technology Commission, Member
- Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation, Member of the Board
- HKSTP Foundation, Chairman of the Board
- Hong Kong Trade Development Council Infrastructure Development Advisory Committee, Member
- Our Hong Kong Foundation, Governor
- Hong Kong Chronicles Institute, Council Member
- Employers’ Federation of Hong Kong, Council Member
- The Community Chest of Hong Kong, Vice Patron
- Hong Kong Committee for UNICEF, Member of the Council
- Hong Kong Management Association, Council Member
- The University of Hong Kong, Trustee of Occupational Retirement Schemes
- The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Member of the Court
- The Real Estate Developers Association of Hong Kong, Director
- NUS Medicine International Council of the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine of the National University of Singapore, Member
- Singapore Management University International Advisory Council, Member
Qualifications
- Master of Science degree in Real Estate Development (Columbia University)
- Bachelor of Arts (Columbia University)
- Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters (Savannah College of Art and Design)
- Honorary Fellowship (Hong Kong University of Science and Technology)
- Honorary Fellowship (Hong Kong Metropolitan University)
