Allan Zeman
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The Honourable Allan Zeman GBM GBS JP |
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|---|---|
Zeman in 2009 at Ocean Park Hong Kong
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
18 July 1949 Regensburg, West Germany |
| Nationality |
Canadian (1949-2008) Chinese (Hong Kong) (2008–present) |
| Political party | New People's Party (Hong Kong) |
| Alma mater | LL.D. (Hon) (UWO) |
| Occupation | Entrepreneur |
| Known for | Developing Lan Kwai Fong and running Ocean Park in Hong Kong |
| Awards | 2001: Justice of the Peace 2004: Gold Bauhinia Star 2011: Grand Bauhinia Medal |
Allan Zeman GBM, GBS, JP (Chinese name: 盛智文; born 1949) is a Hong Kong business magnate. He was born in Germany, raised in Canada and is of Jewish descent. He is known in Hong Kong as the "Father of Lan Kwai Fong" (蘭桂坊之父).
Allan Zeman was born in Regensburg, Germany; and was raised in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, where his mother worked in a hospital. When Zeman was seven years old, his father died. He started working at the age of ten. He dropped out of college, and by the age of nineteen, while working for a lingerie company, he had earned his first US$1 million.
He made his first fortune by importing clothes from Hong Kong. He frequently travelled to Hong Kong for work in the 1970s, and eventually moved there in 1975. Zeman is married and has two grown children. He speaks English, French and some Cantonese, and is a teetotaler.
In 1975, Zeman founded Colby International Group to source clothing in China and export it to Canada. In late 2000, by now a much larger and diversified company, Colby was sold to Li & Fung Ltd., a major competitor. In the early 1980s, Zeman felt that Hong Kong had no western restaurant that suited his needs, so in 1983 he opened California Restaurant in Lan Kwai Fong, a narrow street in Central, Hong Kong. He bought the entire block in 1984 and thus launched his career as both an entertainment operator and property developer.
Through Lan Kwai Fong Holdings Ltd, of which he is chairman, he drove the development of Lan Kwai Fong to be one of the most important bar and night life districts in Hong Kong. He is said to own 65 percent of the district's properties.
Meanwhile, as chairman of Lan Kwai Fong Concepts Holdings Ltd., he controls a number of restaurants in Lan Kwai Fong including California, California Coffee, China Lan Kwai Fong, Indochine, Tokio Joe, Cafe des Artistes, Tutta Luna, Jazz Club, Thai Lemongrass, BACI, BACI Pizza and Luna Di Notte.
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