Actress-Turned-Businesswoman, Gigi Lai, Becomes CEO of Public Company

Gigi Lai (黎姿) is making history. The parent company of her cosmetics business CosMax, Miricor Enterprises Holdings Limited (卓珈控股集團有限公司), debuted on the Hong Kong Growth Enterprise Market on Tuesday, becoming a listed company. The former actress is both the CEO and the chairwoman of Miricor.

When it debuted on Tuesday, the share price of Miricor was at $2.51 HKD. It peaked at $5 HKD and closed the night at $3.95 HKD, four times higher than the original price. The stock rise boosted Gigi and her family’s wealth from $204 million HKD to $1.1 billion HKD.

On Tuesday morning, the 45-year-old arrived at the HKEx headquarters in Central to attend the opening ceremony, followed by her parents and her younger brother Stephen Lai (黎英), the original creator of CosMax. Gigi’s husband Patrick Ma (馬廷強) was absent.

Gigi was full of smiles during her after-ceremony interview with the reporters. She could only describe herself as feeling “ecstatic” and exclaimed that she hasn’t gotten much sleep due to her excitement. “Only once in a lifetime!” said Gigi. “This is a big deal for me. It is definitely something worth to remember.”

Asking if her staff has been referring her to as “Mrs. Ma” or “Chairwoman Ma”, Gigi laughed and said, “Just Gigi will suffice!” The former actress also announced that she has officially changed her name from “Lai Chi” (黎姿) to “Ma Lai Ka-yee” (馬黎珈而), a name she has been using since her marriage to Patrick in 2008. The couple have three daughters—Pricia, Gianna, and Pegella.

At the mention of her younger brother Stephen, who is now bound to a wheelchair after surviving a near-fatal car accident back in 2007, Gigi got emotional and her eyes started to well with tears.

“He’s so happy today,” she said. “He was in tears when he watched [the ceremony]. He’s always wanted to me to take this step. He knows he can no longer operate his own clinic. He wants me to continue his professional spirit, to continue that stubbornness for medical beauty. I am thankful for my brother, who not only enlightened me but also provided the platform for me to discover another side of Gigi, that I can actually do business!”

After completing the TVB drama The Gem of Life <珠光寶氣> in 2008, Gigi announced her retirement from the acting industry to take care of her bed-ridden brother and succeed his cosmetics business. Gigi has been fighting for CosMax ever since.

Bowie Lam Celebrates Success with Gigi

Gigi’s The Gem of Life costar and close friend, Bowie Lam (林保怡), was one of the first celebrities to congratulate Miricor’s success. He shared a selfie he took with Gigi recently at an event for Miricor, and wrote, “Congratulations to Gigi’s company for going public! Her speech was very emotional and positive. Even I almost cried!”

Many fans rushed to congratulate Gigi on her success. Many of their fans also left nostalgic comments, reminiscing the days when Bowie and Gigi were touted as the TV screen’s most popular couple.

“My favorite Sun Pak-yeung and Princess Yuk-ying!” said one netizen, referring to Bowie and Gigi’s iconic performances in the hit 2004 television drama War and Beauty <金枝慾孽>. “Allow the last photo to take us back in time to over ten years ago… what a classic duo!” said another netizen. “They are my favorite CP (couple) in War and Beauty!”

Sources: Mingpao, Sina

This article is written by Addy for JayneStars.com.