Our Founder

Dr. Cha Chi Ming

Founder of the Qiu Shi Science & Technologies Foundation

Dr. Cha Chi Ming (1914-2007) was an innovative industrialist and successful entrepreneur. Born in Haining in China’s Zhejiang Province, Dr. Cha studied textile technology at the Dyeing and Textile Department of the Advance Engineering High School affiliated with Zhejiang University, and apprenticed in Shanghai and Changzhou.

Soon after relocating to Hong Kong, Dr. Cha established China Dyeing Works Limited in 1949, which helped drive Hong Kong’s post-war textile industry and became Asia’s most advanced dyeing factory in the 1990s. Over the following decades, he built a diversified enterprise spanning textiles, real estate, and international ventures.

The Cha Group’s textile factories expanded across West Africa, the United States, and Britain starting from the 1960s, and employed tens of thousands of people worldwide.

The real estate business he started in 1977 eventually became HKR International Limited, which was publicly-listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 1989. The Cha Group’s flagship project, Discovery Bay in Hong Kong is internationally renowned for its pioneering and unique design and township community established since the 1970s.

Dr. Cha also contributed to public-service in Hong Kong and was among the first recipients of the Grand Bauhinia Medal in 1997 from the Hong Kong SAR Government.

Dr. Cha left an enduring legacy through philanthropy. He founded and endowed the Qiu Shi Science and Technologies Foundation in 1994, raising the profile of and supporting research by Chinese scientists. His vision and philanthropic commitment promoted scientific inquiry and technological innovation for the benefit of society.

The Honorable CHA Chi-Ming, G.B.M., J.P.
1997 Grand Bauhinia Medal by Government of the Hong Kong SAR