A Hong Kong billionaire has announced a £40m “marriage bounty” to the man who successfully woos his lesbian daughter.
Cecil Chao Sze-tsung offered the sum amid reports 33-year-old Gigi Chau had married her long-time female lover in France.
Gigi, who attended Manchester University, is said to have eloped with her girlfriend of seven years, Sean Eav, in April.
Daddy's little girl: Gigi and her father Cecil Chao Sze-tsung
A picture apparently taken in the first class section on a plane on Gigi's Facebook page confirms the pair were Paris-bound in April. It shows Sean Ev holding up an iPad and is paired with the caption: "Going to Paris to buy a few businesses".
However her father has apparently rejected the “false reports” and insists his daughter is still single.
He told 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.”
He denied he would force Gigi to marry against her will, adding the prize money was “an inducement to attract someone who has the talent but not the capital to start his own business.”
Gigi seems nonplussed by the attention, taking to Facebook to note: “I would like to announce that I suddenly received a whole bunch of followers on my twitter account which I never use.”
Hours later she updated her status to read: “No longer accepting Facebook friend requests… sorry.”
News.com.au points out same sex marriages are not recognised in Hong Kong, where homosexuality was decriminalised in 1991.
It adds Cecil, now 76, attends many public events with his “latest young girlfriend” and once claimed to have slept with 10,000 women.