The William S. D. Louey Educational Foundation was established in 1995 by William Louey Lai Kuen in memory of his grandfather, with the aim of providing scholarships and bursaries to academically outstanding students from Hong Kong and Greater China for overseas studies. Mr. William S.D. Louey was the founder of the Kowloon Motor Bus Co. (1933) Ltd., which has been providing public transport services to the people of Hong Kong since 1925.
In 1995, William Louey Lai Kuen, the grandson of William S. D. Louey, established the William S. D. Louey Educational Foundation to provide opportunities for meritorious students from China and Hong Kong to pursue advanced degrees at prestigious institutions abroad. The Foundation has awarded scholarships and bursaries to 35 students, allowing them to study in the US and the UK, with a total investment of HKD $60 million. Over time, the Foundation, under William Louey's vision and leadership, has broadened its financial support to include promising candidates from other countries.
William Louey serves as a non-executive director at Transport International. The younger generation of the Louey family remains steadfast in William S. D. Louey’s commitment to providing mobility to Hong Kong’s residents while also steering the company’s sustainability goals. Moving away from diesel-powered buses, today, more than 80% of KMB’s fleet is electric. William Louey is also a founding member of JNW Properties and serves as chairman of Hong Kong Construction (Technology).
William Louey remains actively engaged in his philanthropic endeavors. He keeps in touch with many of the students who have received scholarships from the Foundation, who have gone on to create further social opportunities for the next generation through advancements in science, technology, and society. The William S. D. Louey Educational Foundation continues to strengthen and expand its relationships with top schools in the UK and the US. Alumni of the Foundation have studied at institutions such as Oxford University, Cambridge University, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), among others.
In 1999, William Louey was invited to join the committee of the China Oxford Scholarship Fund, and in 2011, he was appointed as a Member of the Vice-Chancellor’s Circle at the University of Oxford. William Louey also served as Executive Committee Member of The Friends of Cambridge University in Hong Kong, the sponsor of Prince Philip Scholarship between 2003 and 2012.
In 2013, The University of Oxford awarded William Louey the Elizabeth Wordsworth Fellowship, the first accolade of its kind, for his contribution to higher education.
