Ngan In-leng produced his Singapore ID card to register two offshore companies; NPC and CPPCC members are not supposed to have foreign nationality
STAFF REPORTERS
UPDATED : Tuesday, 03 May, 2016, 10:10pm
The Panama Papers reveal that Ngan In-leng has Singaporean nationality. Photo: Jonathan Wong
A Macau businessman and core member of China’s top political advisory body has hidden his Singaporean nationality which he obtained just a year after Portugal returned the colony in 1999, according to the latest batch of Panama Papers examined by Hong Kong media.
Ngan In-leng, one of five standing committee members who represent Macau in the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), produced his Singaporean identity card for the registration of two offshore firms that he and his family members set up in the mid-2000s, according to documents leaked from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca.
The Post obtained the Panama Papers from the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.
Ngan, founder of failed airline Viva Macau, could not be reached for comment.
He is the second CPPCC standing committee member found to possess a foreign nationality. Earlier, the Panama Papers revealed that property tycoon Lee Ka-kit, vice-chairman of Henderson Land Development, declared British nationality in setting up offshore companies.
China does not recognise dual nationality. Queries about CPPCC or National People’s Congress delegates being nationals of foreign countries have been raised in recent years.
Two years ago, CPPCC annual meeting spokesman Lu Xinhua said none of the delegates held any overseas nationality, which is not permitted.
Ngan did not disclose his Singaporean identity to Hong Kong’s Companies Registry, which, unlike secretive offshore platforms, makes details public online.
Instead of using his Macau ID, he gave Mossack Fonseca staff photocopies of his Singapore ID card, which showed that it was issued in December 2000, just a year after China resumed sovereignty over the Portuguese enclave.
His son, Ngan Iek, is the chairman of the holding company of Link Hotel in Singapore. The two offshore firms that the elder Ngan owned have been made public in Hong Kong Stock Exchange announcements about other companies run by the Ngan family.
A high-ranking CPPCC delegate active in Hong Kong, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Ngan’s case was not a problem as long as it was legitimate.
Macau-based commentator Larry So Man-yum said Ngan’s Singaporean nationality did not come as a surprise.
“A number of members of the CPPCC have more than one nationality. As long as they don’t make it loud to the public, the central government doesn’t care,” So said.
Ngan, who was promoted from CPPCC member to the inner core in 2013, is seen as a unifier of the Fujian community in Macau.
He became low profile after Viva Macau went bankrupt. The low-cost carrier started operating in 2006 under a sub-concession agreement with Air Macau, but in 2010 the government revoked its licence following flight cancellations due to financial difficulties.
This story is published concurrently with three other Hong Kong media organisations, Ming Pao, HK01 and Next Magazine, to which the same batch of Panama Papers on mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau were also made available.
http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/1940986/core-macau-member-chinas-top-advisory-body-had-singaporean
