Shanghai, China: The business elite of Shanghai took the Silport challenge as the Dutch-based banker ABN Amro recently held the inaugural ABN Amro Golf Invitational.

Playing over Silport’s Championship Course, Huang Han Ming emerged the dominant player among the 68-player field as he captured both the low nett prize and one of the two long drive contests along with Jiang Wenyao. The chief representative in Shanghai of Belgian diamond brokers AMC, a 16.8 handicap, shot an 17-over-par 89 over the West and Center layouts to register a nett score of 72.2. Frank Liao and Zheng Huang finished second and third respectively.

Zhuo Jinxian, the chief representative of finance and auditing for shipping company Wan Hai Lines, captured the low gross championship when the 9.6 handicap carded a 15-over 87.
Other prizes went to David Lee, ABN Amro Asset Management’s China CEO, who captured one of the two nearest the pin awards along with Chen Junxian. BMW Shanghai was offering a BMW 320 to anyone who recorded a hole-in-one but no one could claim the generous prize.

Special guests at the golf day included Bruno Schricke, ABN Amro China CEO, and Chinese actor Wong Zhiwen

ABN Amro is Holland’s largest bank. In China, it is involved in private banking, asset management and consumer and commercial clients. Last year, the company purchased a 33 percent stake in the Shanghai-based Xiangcai Hefeng Fund Management. The lender will be able to increase its stake to a maximum 49 percent in 2005 under China’s World Trade Organisation commitments.