Allan Zeman

Allan Zeman (盛智文) (born 1950) GBS JP is a German-born Jewish businessman doing business in Hong Kong. He is known, amongst other titles, as Father of Lan Kwai Fong.

Zeman was born in Regensburg but grew up in Montreal, Canada. Having started working at the age of 10, he dropped out of college at 16 and by age 19 he was working for a lingerie company. He made his first fortune by importing clothes from Hong Kong. As he frequently travelled to Hong Kong for work in the 1970s, he eventually moved to the city in 1975 at the age of 20.

Zeman felt that Hong Kong had no western restaurant that suited his needs, so in the 1983 he opened California Restaurant in Lan Kwai Fong, a narrow street in Central. He bought the entire block in 1984 and thus launched his career as both an entertainer and property developer. Lan Kwai Fong later developed to become one of the most important bar and night life districts in Hong Kong.

In 2004, Zeman was invited by the then-Chief Executive of Hong Kong, Tung Chee-hwa, to become the chairman of Ocean Park. He managed to raise visitor numbers despite the opening of rival Hong Kong Disneyland, make the park more attractive and remarkably, the park generated record profits.

A 2007 Forbes article [ [http://www.forbes.com/2007/02/13/zeman-ocean-park-face-cx_vk_0213autofacescan01.html?partner=faces_newsletter Allan Zeman: Hong Kong's Mouse Killer - Forbes.com ] ] , refers to Zeman as Hong Kong's Mouse Killer because of the success that Ocean Park is having while Hong Kong Disneyland struggles to survive.

Zeman is married and has two grown children, Marisa and Jonathan. In addition to being the Father of Lan Kwai Fong, he also is thought of as a property tycoon, entertainment guru, business whiz, film producer, theme park saviour, fashion trader, overseas investor and government adviser. In February 2007, Style Magazine (published by the South China Morning Post) named him as Stylemaker of the Year.

He supported Regina Ip in the 2007 LegCo by-election of the Hong Kong Island constituency. She was defeated in that election by Anson Chan [http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?we_cat=21&art_id=54324&sid=15635380&con_type=1&d_str=20071002]

References

External links

* [http://streaming.scmp.com/podcasting/upload/WC_070529.mp4 Serving with Passion: Lan Kwai Fong] A "South China Morning Post" vidcast featuring an interview with Allan Zeman, dated May 29, 2007, where he tells the creation story of Hong Kong's famous entertainment district.
* [http://streaming.scmp.com/podcasting/upload/NS_070428.mp4 Ying Ying and Le Le come to Hong Kong] A "South China Morning Post" vidcast showing the arrival of Hong Kong's new pandas. Ocean Park chairman Allan Zeman explains their significance. Dated April 28, 2007.
* [http://streaming.scmp.com/podcasting/upload/city_style_awards_january20.mp4 Hong Kong shows its style] A "South China Morning Post" vidcast showing Allan Zeman's reaction to being named Stylemaker of the Year. Dated January 20, 2007.