HK court appoints administrator for richest woman's estate

A HONG Kong judge appointed an administrator yesterday to protect the multi-billion dollar estate of late Hong Kong tycoon Nina Wang during a likely long court battle between Wang's feng shui master and her family.

Wang, 69, who died in April, was rated Asia's richest woman with a fortune estimated at between US$4 billion and US$12 billion.

Known for her signature pigtails and nicknamed "little sweetie," Wang won control of her late husband's business empire in 2005 in a court case filled with tales of adultery, kidnapping and murder.

In the latest in a series of complex legal maneuvers, Judge Andrew Cheung told the rival camps yesterday that he had agreed to appoint an independent administrator for Wang's estate.

"The present litigation is unfortunately likely to be protracted," Cheung told the court.

Two main parties are vying for Wang's inheritance, given the existence of two competing wills.

The Chinachem Charitable Foundation, run primarily by Wang's family, lays claim to a 2002 will, while feng shui enthusiast and businessman Tony Chan claims to be the sole beneficiary of a will drafted last year by Wang as she lay dying of cancer.