In memory of Charles
October 23 ,1943 - March 23 ,2024
“Every saint has a past, every sinner has a future.”
-Charles Favorite Quotations
Charles Lo 勞啟明
1943 - 2024
Charles Kai Ming Lo was born during World War II, in 1943 in Kaiping county of the Guangdong province. He was baptised in the Cathedral of Guangzhou. He came to Hong Kong with his family when he was about 5.
After finishing school in St Louis Salesian School, he had planned to pursue a career in education, but switched half way from a teacher's training to join Peat Marwick as a trainee to pursue a career in accounting. He completed his accounting qualifying examinations in record time, and received an award as the recipient of the highest mark in the world that year in the Monetary Theory paper. Immediately after finishing his accounting qualifying examinations, he took up part-time studies in law and received a Bachelor of Law degree from the University of London.
In 1969, he started his own accounting practice. He was then only 26, and became the youngest owner of his own practice at the time. He was a certified accountant in Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, and England & Wales.
When the Hong Kong economy was in the doldrums during the early 1980s, he introduced many investors from South East Asia to Hong Kong, becoming a pioneer in mergers and acquisitions services in these capital markets. At one point, his clients accounted for 60% of all M&A activities taking place in Hong Kong. After adding value to the businesses acquired, Charles helped many of his clients list their businesses on the Hong Kong stock exchange. For a time, around 25% of all listed companies in Hong Kong counted as his clients under management.
In 1986, his firm Charles Lo & Co. Ltd. merged with Deloitte Haskins & Sells, which eventually became Deloitte Touche Corporate Finance Limited, where he practiced until his retirement in 1990. He continued serving as a Senior Consultant with Deloitte until April 2010. After a break, he joined as a consultant of Grant Thornton China where he served from April 2011 until his passing.
Charles was active in public service over his lifetime. He was a director of Tao Fong Shan Foundation from 2010-2016 and a board member of the Hong Kong Society for the Aged from 2003-2020. He had also been a member of the Review Panel of the Best Corporate Governance Awards organised by the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants since 2000.
His Catholic faith was a core part of his life. He chose to retire from full time professional practice to pursue full time studies in Theology at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (“CUHK”), and was awarded a degree in Divinity in 1993. He got a distinction for his graduation dissertation. Upon graduation, he was invited to join as a member of Theological Council of the Divinity School of Chung Chi College, CUHK. He had remained as a Council member for over 25 years.
As an extension of his faith, Charles passionately believed in the promotion of business ethics, and to that end, founded the Institute of Business Ethics and Sustainability (IBES), whose work continues to this day.
He also made notable contributions to the Catholic church. He helped spearhead the founding of the part time theology studies in the Hong Kong diocese. He also initiated a dialogue between the Hong Kong diocese and a PRC university on the topic of Cultural Christians. This formed the basis on which improved ties between the Vatican and the People’s Republic of China were built.
He worked tirelessly for the things he believed in throughout his life. He will be remembered for the wisdom and heart he so generously shared with all who knew him.
“In love there is truth, and in truth there is peace.”
-Charles Favorite Quotations
Image Gallery
Fr Choy Eulogy
If I have three minutes to talk about Mr. Lau Kai Ming's contributions to theological work throughout his life, I would summarize it using the words faith, hope and love.
Faith:
Mr. Lo's involvement in theological work began in the 1980s. Although his career was thriving at the time, he still made time to complete a theology degree at the Holy Spirit Seminary and Institute of Philosophy. Lay persons receiving theological training was not yet common in the Catholic Church then, demonstrating his earnest faith and commitment.
Hope:
After graduation, Mr. Lo dedicated himself to promoting theological education for the lay faithful. In 1989, he had an aspiration to establish an evening theology course dedicated to ordinary believers, later renamed Religious Studies. He has attended every graduation ceremony to date to show his support. The course has now trained over 500 graduates, most of whom take on leadership or education roles in dioceses, parishes or schools.
Besides promoting the education of the faithful, Mr. Lo also had a greater aspiration of engaging in theological dialogue with mainland Chinese scholars. For over a decade, he has co-organized an annual seminar with Renmin University to explore the positive role of Christianity in contemporary society, greatly enhancing mainland scholars' understanding of the Catholic Church.
Love:
In recent years, especially after the series of social events in Hong Kong, Mr. Lo returned to basics and cared deeply about the spiritual health of his friends in business. He actively established faith communities for businessmen, starting from those he knew around him, sharing his experience facing difficulties in business over the years. He had planned to establish a center in Shenzhen to provide a place for spiritual exchange for friends doing business in mainland China.
Mr. Lo's outstanding performance in business is surely related to his faithful, hopeful and loving attitude. In him I see a successful and steadfast Christian businessman.
Philip Tsai Eulogy
Angela, Anthony, Justin, Family Members, Ladies and Gentlemen, Good morning.
If you are wondering why among all the people in the audience this morning, many of whom are my seniors either in the Profession or the Business Community, that I have been asked to speak on our dear friend Charles, I could only guessed that was because I had coffee with Justin at the Office last year and understood that Charles was not well, which got me re-connected with Angela who I have not met for some time since our retirement from our respective firms.
Whilst other speakers might be talking about Charles' outstanding achievements as a Professional Accountant, Business Entrepreneur, or an avid supporter of the Church and various NGOs in town, I would like to share with you a single incident, a simple gesture of Charles which nevertheless has a profound impact on yours truly over the years.
It was around lunch hour one afternoon at the Office many years ago when I was taking the elevator to one of the Audit floors. When I tried to alight on my designated floor my fellow colleagues in the jam-packed elevator were not overly enthusiastic in letting me out as their thoughts were either fixated on their phones or the eagerly awaited lunch appointments with their colleagues and friends.
Then appeared Charles who stepped out of the elevator and held the doors open so I could wiggle my way out. I thanked Charles profusely which only added to the dismay of our fellow colleagues as we were indeed holding them up for their journey to the lift lobby and beyond.
However, what they have sorely missed was a vivid demonstration by a Senior Partner of the Firm his eagerness to serve and help people in need, his sense of Empathy for others, and his Spirit of Benevolence for his friends and colleagues, which are all hallmarks of an outstanding professional and leader in any profession or organization, not to mention a kind-hearted individual and gentleman.
I promised myself on the spot that I will follow Charles' exemplary behavior by holding the door for anyone, and I mean anyone, at the Office, be them Clients, Colleagues or merely Visitors, and I have been doing it ever since.
I think I have used up more than my allotted 3 minutes but whilst we are bidding our final farewell to Charles, may he rest in peace together with the Lord who he has been serving his whole life.
Thank you very much.
Robert Chan Eulogy
Dear Charles,
I would like to express my longing and gratitude to you through this letter. Firstly, I want to thank Angela, Maria, and Justin for giving me the opportunity to speak to you here.
You and I had breakfast on a morning in March 2023. We had a habit for over 10 years of having breakfast or lunch together to chat about almost everything. Today, in April 2024, I bid you farewell from the depths of my heart in this Holy Place. The contrast is truly overwhelming!
Over the past 20 years, we collaborated closely in our professional endeavors. From Nanjing to Beijing, from Shanghai to Zhejiang Province, we walked together through negotiations for the Nanjing Metro project and the listing of a chemical factory in YongKang city. From you, I have witnessed your meticulous work ethic, thoughtful thinking, and comprehensive professional attitude, from which I have benefited greatly. You generously shared your social experiences, life philosophy, and the importance and dedication you placed on faith. These shared moments have had a profound impact on me.
During the social unrest in 2019, you put in effort and resources to pursue justice. I know that friends who received your support are also present today to pay tribute to you.
You were entrusted with great responsibility by God and selflessly served in the Catholic diocese. You gained the trust of the Cardinal and established the "Society of Little Children in Christ ", a Catholic lay organization comprised of business professionals that had received recognition from the diocese. You also led a group of brothers to establish the " IBES Apostolic Fellowship," promoting the theme “ Business joining religion to make a better world” , all for the glory of God. You encouraged us to cultivate our character, do good deeds, spread the Gospel, and bring honor to God. You actively spread God's message to business leaders and decision-makers. With the spirit of "emptying oneself, not being attached to worldly possessions, holding the cross, and following Christ," you encouraged us, brothers, to walk together on the path of faith, supporting one another.
Brother, everything you had done has become a beautiful testimony to God.
Today, with a heavy heart and a great sense of loss, I bid farewell to you as you leave this world. But at the same time, it is a blessing for you because I know that you had fought the good fight on earth and fulfilled the mission that God gave you with excellence. Now, you have peacefully returned to the kingdom of God and entered into eternal life.
I will forever cherish the memories of you, my brother. May you rest in peace in heaven !
with love and great respect !
Robert
Angela eulogy
Charles was born during the second world war in mainland China. He was baptised Catholic as a baby in the Catholic Cathedral in Guangzhou. His godfather was reportedly a US pilot. Charles' grandfather went to the US to make a living. While there, he was converted Catholic. So he brought his faith back to his family in China. Charles was the third generation Catholic in the family.
Charles came to HK with his family when he was a little boy.
He claimed to be just ordinary as a student, but somehow when he decided to get qualified as an accountant and joined Peat Marwick as a trainee, he proved himself to be most gifted in that profession. He quickly sailed through the accountancy qualifying exams well before his training period was over. He therefore decided to take up legal studies part time and got his law degree from the University of London, again in record time. At that time, if he had wanted to practise law, he had to naturize as a British subject as he was born Chinese. He decided to stay Chinese and stay an accountant. But as the only accountant among his group of law classmates, he had many client referrals from his lawyer friends.
Against that background, Charles was able to set up his own accounting firm Charles Lo & Co. when he was just 26 years old. That was 1969.
During the uncertainty HK faced during the Sino British negotiations on HK's future in the early 1980's, Charles was able to seize the opportunity to build up a most successful M&A practice which was quite unique for accountants at that time.
You will see from Charles' bio that indeed he had had a most illustrious accounting career. I will not repeat the details here.
Charles' faith in God was the cornerstone of his life. He had always counted his blessings from God and was a grateful man.
At a peak of his professional career, he left his practice to pursue full time studies in Theology.
Charles was a thinker and a philosopher. He was always thinking thoroughly through all issues before him. The thoroughness explained why he got the highest mark in the world for the accounting exam paper on Monetary Theory. Later, for his Masters of Divinity, he also got a distinction for his graduation dissertation. He wrote on the influential US theologian Reinold Niebuhr.
He had thought through many lofty philosophical questions, including :
The meaning of life,
what love means,
what is human nature like.....
and he had got good answers for them. Just to share some of his answers here with you --
God is love and the meaning of life is love.
When you love someone, his happiness makes you happy.
As there is no perfect man, so there is no perfect love from him.
For a man - happy wife, happy life.
The character of human nature is paradoxical. There are both good and evil inclinations. We face a constant battle between the opposing forces.
Should we slip up from time to time, we should quickly pick ourselves up and strive on. He comforts himself and us with the saying that Saints have a past and Sinners have a future.
Charles did not just think. He was also a man of action. When there was a lacklustre debate as to whether a part time theology course in the HK diocese should be set up for the laity, he flew to Rome to speak to Cardinal John Baptist Woo and other relevant stakeholders to make it happen. Since then, this course has become very popular among the Catholic laity.
He was also the one who initiated and funded a dialogue leading to an annual joint seminar between the HK diocese and a PRC university on the topic of Cultural Christians. This became the foundation on which 8 years or so later, the first Sino-Vatican Agreement came to be signed.
I have learned a lot from Charles.
We shared the same birth day.
We often said the same thing together. He said I was the worm in his guts (佢肚裏邊條蟲).
We shared the same faith and had both made the same fundamental option to serve God. We shared the same dream - to spread the message of truth and love.
Charles had not really recovered cognitively from the medically induced coma he was put under in May last year. I had been praying that he would walk and talk again to glorify God, although this clearly is not what God thinks is good for him. On the other hand, while I was reflecting on his life, I realised that he is in fact walking and talking through me to glorify God. And, if you also believe in the truth and love, he would also be walking and talking through you too.
Indeed there had been a few other initiatives, which Charles had worked hard to push forward. But now that he is clearly not able to finish them, it is now up to you and I to carry on with them.
I am grateful that you are able to join us here to celebrate Charles' life and pray for his return to the God he had opted to serve.
May God bless you all and may Charles' dream to spread the message of the truth and love be carried on by us all.