Sabrina Ho Chiu Yeng is Director and CEO of Poly Auction Macau Limited, founder and Managing Director of Chiu Yeng Culture Limited and member of the Committee of Cultural Industries of the Government of Macao SAR.
She is the eldest daughter of late gaming tycoon Stanley Ho and Angela Leong On Kei, member of the Macao Legislative Council, Managing Director and Chief Administrative Officer of gaming operator Sociedade de Jogos de Macau, S.A.
Born 24 September 1990, Ho received the very best international education. She attended primary school in Hong Kong, spent a year at St. Hilda’s School for girls on Australia’s Gold Coast, and went to secondary school at Queen Margaret’s boarding school in Yorkshire, England.
Growing up in the shadow of her parents’ legacy, Ho always felt some pressure to find her own path and succeed in her own right. Her passion for art and painting inspired her to branch out from the family business in gaming and pursue her dreams in the art world. “My parents always knew this was my path. I used to draw on the tables and on the walls and ruin all the furniture. My love for art and culture was always there,” she laughs. She graduated in 2013 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Hong Kong.
In 2015, Ho started managing the Regency Hotel Macau, re-branding it into Regency Art Hotel, an art hotel that provided a space where creativity and hospitality co-existed. “Our family acquired the Regency, and it needed a makeover. Revamping a hotel is more difficult than creating it from scratch. However, I saw the ideal place to create a space that provides young local creators an opportunity to exhibit their work and those interested in art the opportunity to see something different,” she says.
October of that same year, Ho founded Chiu Yeng Culture Limited, a company that promotes Macao’s creativity and organises art auctions through Poly Auction Macau Limited, a company she co-founded with Poly Auction Hong Kong. The first auction was held in January 2016, with sales of HK$ 245 million.
Ho is also responsible for creating the 6075 Macao Hotel Art Fair, the first event of its kind in Macao to showcase artwork in hotel venues across the city. The fair provides an opportunity for young artists, graduate students and art enthusiasts from all over the world to mingle, and it positions Macao’s art scene more competitively at the international level.
Her contribution to the upcoming Palazzo Versace and Karl Lagerfeld hotels have also shined a spotlight on the young entrepreneur who feels that “Macao is still undiscovered in the art world.”
Although the future is unwritten, Ho is confident that she can make a difference in Macao and considers this commitment the best decision of her life.
If she could have dinner with anyone, she would choose the Genie in Aladdin’s lamp so he could grant her three wishes. In her wildest dreams, Ho would love to bring Art Basel to Macao, open a museum dedicated to local art and get project Ho Arts Village off the ground, a community space for local artists.
The young businesswoman is an avid art collector who still finds time to get in touch with her passion for creating art. She would especially love to spend more time painting with oil on canvas, her favourite medium. Ho attributes her mother with inspiring her to be the well-rounded and accomplished young woman she is.
