CityU announces Honorary Fellowships for four distinguished persons

City University of Hong Kong (CityU) will confer the title of Honorary Fellow on four distinguished persons in recognition of their significant contributions to the development of, and service to, the University and the community. They are Mrs Indra Banga, Dr Sunny Chai Ngai-chiu, BBS, JP, Dr Gary Cheng Faat-ting, and Dr Brian Li Yiu-cheung. The Honorary Fellow Presentation Ceremony will be held in September.

Mrs Indra Banga is a renowned philanthropist. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the Caravel Group and its Caravel Foundation, which she co-founded in 2015. The Foundation focuses on education and healthcare for underprivileged children, primarily in Hong Kong, mainland China and India. It has endowed CityU’s Indra and Harry Banga Gallery, which showcases exhibitions that engage the community, and the Caravel Foundation Scholarship Funds at Dartmouth College, Duke University and Princeton University. It supports Cricket Hong Kong, which aims to make cricket accessible to youth in Hong Kong, and International Yoga Day, amongst others. Mrs Banga is currently Patron and has been involved with Sanskriti and Integrated Brilliant Education for over a decade. Furthermore, Mrs Banga supports the wider Caravel Group’s activities, and one of her philanthropic projects through the Group was to support critical COVID relief efforts in Hong Kong and India.

In a personal capacity, Mrs Banga is actively involved in multiple charity projects, such as Future Hope. She is the President of the Hong Kong Indian Women’s Club where she has driven the Club’s social work, helping members of the Indian community, elderly, and underprivileged children from ethnic minority groups. In this role, she has led collaborations with organisations such as Habitat for Humanity, OneSky, the Children’s Thalassemia Foundation and the Community Chest.

Dr Sunny Chai Ngai-chiu, Managing Director of Fook Tin Group Holdings Limited, is a distinguished industrialist. Under his leadership, the Fook Tin Group is one of the world’s leading providers of weighing solutions with a customer base of over 500 international companies. It has been well recognised in the industry by winning awards including the Hong Kong Awards for Industries – Productivity Grand Award.

Dr Chai actively promotes innovation and technology development in Hong Kong. His many public offices include serving as Chairman of Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation; Chairman of The Federation of Hong Kong Industries; Member of Governance Committee of Hong Kong Growth Portfolio, HKSAR; Ex-officio Member of the InnoHK Steering Committee of the Innovation and Technology Commission, HKSAR; Member of Professional Services Advancement Support Scheme Vetting Committee; Member of the Trade and Industry Advisory Board; Member of Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC); Chairman of the Innovation and Technology Advisory Committee of HKTDC; and Committee Member of Chongqing Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.

For his contributions to industry and society, Dr Chai was recognised by the Young Industrialist Awards of Hong Kong in 2004, received the Bronze Bauhinia Star in 2018, and was appointed Justice of the Peace in 2021.

Dr Chai is currently a Court Member at CityU and Vice-Chairman of the CityU Eminence Society, a senior alumni association supporting the University’s development.

Dr Gary Cheng Faat-ting, Founder and Managing Director of Gary Cheng Group, is a successful entrepreneur and practicing CPA. The business scope of Gary Cheng Group consists of a CPA firm, a securities firm, a trading business, real estate development, and hotel and service apartment business. Dr Cheng is one of a few distinct corporate governance scholar-CPA practitioners in Hong Kong. Having practiced in the field for over 28 years, Dr Cheng is accredited with fellow CPA, Chartered Tax Advisor, and a specialist designation in insolvency, and has served as a qualified insolvency practitioner.

Over the years, Dr Cheng has actively participated in many areas of public and community service. He is currently a Committee Member of the Social Welfare Advisory Committee of the HKSAR, Charter President and Advisor of The Lions Club of Huaxia Hong Kong, Vice-President of the Chinese Entrepreneurs Organisation, Member of the Chinese Academy of Governance Industrial and Commercial Professionals Alumni Association, and Member of the Hong Kong Professionals and Senior Executive Association.

Dr Cheng has been a keen supporter of CityU since he graduated from the Doctor of Business Administration programme in 2011. He serves as Honorary Vice-President of the CityU Foundation, and he is a CityU Court member and 4th term President of the CityU Eminence Society.

The Student Career Centre at CityU has been named the “Judith and Gary Cheng Student Career Centre” in appreciation of the support and generous donations that Dr and Mrs Cheng have made to CityU.

Dr Brian Li Yiu-cheung, Vice-Chairman and Executive Vice-President of the Hong Kong-listed Gold Peak Technology Group Limited and the Executive Vice-President of the Singapore-listed GP Industries Limited, is a renowned industrialist with over 35 years of experience in the electronic engineering and manufacturing industry, both internationally and in China.

A Fellow of the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers, he energetically participates in industry organisations, serving as Vice-Chairman of the Hong Kong Electronic Industries Association and Council Member of the Hong Kong Electronics Industry Council of the Federation of Hong Kong Industries. Dr Li actively supports higher education, advising industrial and electronic engineering departments at several universities.

Dr Li, a graduate of CityU’s Doctor of Business Administration programme, strongly supports his alma mater. He currently serves as a Member of the Co-operative Education Centre of CityU and was a Member of the Advisory Committee for the Department of Electrical Engineering at CityU from 2011 to 2021. He has taken up the Chairmanship of the Advisory Committee since 2015.