Hong Kong star Louis Koo sued for alleged non-repayment of HK$8.3 million loan

Alex Dong Choi-chi, a film producer, investor and chairman of entertainment group Sunny Side Up Culture, also asked the High Court in the civil suit to order the actor and director to 53 years to give up half of the shares in an offshore company. invest in a Chinese restaurant in Causeway Bay.

The document, which was made public on Wednesday, said the two men invested HK$24.9 million in Eyeteam Limited, a company involved in the distribution of products from foreign clothing brands including Evisu and A Swimming Ape .

They agreed in July 2013 to acquire 49 percent of Eyeteam using Product Power, a company wholly owned by Koo, and that they would each contribute half of the investment amount.

The document states that Koo, despite being the one who proposed the joint venture, asked Dong to pay his share in the first HK$16.6 million investment because he did not have enough cash. at the time.

Dong loaned Koo HK$8.3 million interest-free and repayable in five years, but the loan has not been repaid to date, according to the order.

A year after the loan agreement, Koo suggested Dong acquire the company operating the Ming Kitchen restaurant at Moreton Terrace in Causeway Bay.

The two men then agreed to contribute HK$4.55 million each to purchase 70 percent of the shares in Wealthford International Industrial Limited using Koo's personal company, Cool Label, registered in the British Virgin Islands.

The plaintiff's lawyer asked the court to order the repayment of HK$8.3 million and declare that Koo held half of the shares of Product Power and Wealthford “in trust for Dong” and that he was required to transfer the holdings to Dong upon request.

The order does not specify any civil wrongdoing by Koo regarding the investment in the restaurant.

Koo, one of Hong Kong's most recognizable local cinema icons, has appeared in more than 110 local productions after rising to fame as a television drama performer in the late 1990s.

He won Best Actor at the Hong Kong Film Awards and Asian Film Awards in 2018 for his performance in Paradox. He has also gained recognition overseas, winning the Extraordinary Star Asia Award at the New York Asian Film Festival last year.