Tycoon Offers £40m Dowry For Lesbian Daughter

A highly successful businessman from Hong Kong has offered a $65m (£40.2m) dowry to any man who can win the heart of his lesbian daughter.

Cecil Chao announced the financial reward after his daughter, Gigi, married her same-sex partner of seven years in France earlier this year, according to a report in the South China Morning Post.

"I don't mind whether he is rich or poor. The important thing is that he is generous and kind hearted," 76-year-old Mr Chao was quoted as saying.

"Gigi is a very good woman with both talents and looks. She is devoted to her parents, is generous and does volunteer work," he added.

The tycoon, who owns publicly-listed property developer Cheuk Nang, also insisted that the reports that 33-year-old Gigi had married abroad were "false".

Same-sex marriages are not recognised in Hong Kong, where homosexuality was only decriminalised in 1991.

Mr Chao is well known in Hong Kong's social circles and regularly appears at public events with his latest young girlfriend.

He reportedly once claimed to have had intimate relations with 10,000 women.