Honorary University Fellows
Mr Paul Cheung Kwok Wing is the Chairman and co-founder of Kingboard Chemical Holdings Ltd, Kingboard Copper Foil Holdings Ltd and Elec & Eltek International Company Ltd.
Mr Cheung co-founded Kingboard Chemical Holdings Ltd in 1988, setting up a manufacturing plant in Shenzhen to produce copper-clad laminate. The Group is today the world’s number one laminate producer and the Mainland’s largest printed circuit board manufacturer. The company was named by Forbes Magazine as one of the Top 2000 Global Companies in 2008, and by Bloomberg Businessweek as one of the leading Tech 100 companies in 2010. Mr Cheung Kwok Wing received the Young Industrialist Award of Hong Kong in 1993 and the Owner-Operator Award of the DHL/SCMP Hong Kong Business Awards in 2006.
Mr Cheung was one of the earliest pioneers in establishing Knowledge Exchange activities with HKU and his partnership with the University dates back to 1993. He has also long been a supporter of the development of human capital through education and established the Kingboard Scholarship in Engineering in 2008, giving full financial support to engineering students from the Mainland to study at HKU, and the Kingboard Endowed Professorship in Materials Engineering in 2011.
Citation delivered by Professor Leslie George THAM, Dean of Engineering
Mr Paul Cheung Kwok Wing is the Chairman and co-founder of Kingboard Chemical Holdings Ltd, Kingboard Copper Foil Holdings Ltd and Elec & Eltek International Company Ltd.
Born in Guangdong Province, Mr Cheung learnt the importance of hard work from an early age, when he helped his father on his farm. He later moved to Hong Kong, where he was employed at 3M until he decided to start his own business.
With financial support from his family, he started a trading business buying flagstone salt in Guangzhou and selling it in Hong Kong.
In 1988, he founded Kingboard Chemical Holdings and set up a manufacturing plant in Shenzhen to produce copper-clad laminate. The early years were tough going and, unable to obtain the materials they needed, they decided to produce their own.
Again, his hard work was rewarded, as the company saw its business grow and its production line extended to include Dongguan, Huizhou and Qingyuan.
In 1993, the Group discovered a new material but did not have the facilities to test it. Hearing that there was powerful technical equipment at an HKU Engineering laboratory, they approached the University to request its assistance.
This was Mr Cheung’s first contact with HKU, and would mark the beginning of a long and mutually beneficial partnership.
The Group has since grown to become today the world’s number one laminate producer and the Mainland’s largest printed circuit board manufacturer.
The company was named by Forbes Magazine as one of the Top 2000 Global Companies in 2008, and by Bloomberg Businessweek as one of the leading Tech 100 companies in 2010.
Mr Cheung received the Young Industrialist Award of Hong Kong in 1993 and the Owner-Operator Award of the DHL/SCMP Hong Kong Business Awards in 2006.
Mr Cheung has also long been a supporter of the development of human capital through education. He established the Kingboard Scholarship in Engineering in 2008, and his belief that China can become stronger through the development of its local capacities has led to the establishment of the Kingboard Endowed Professorship in Materials Engineering.
Mr Cheung hopes that supporting such research will lead to the development of new materials. That these new materials will open the door to new technologies. And that these will ultimately benefit local and Mainland industries, and contribute to economic and technological growth in China and the Region.
But in the context of today’s ceremony, it is a happy reminder of the two-decade partnership of mutual respect and trust that has been established between Mr Cheung and the University.
It gives me great pleasure, Mr Pro-Chancellor, to present Mr Paul Cheung Kwok Wing for the Honorary University Fellowship, in recognition of his contributions to Hong Kong and academia.