Sam Ngai, the spokesman and manager of production company Star Overseas Ltd., will leave his current position on Friday.

Sam Ngai [sina.com]

"I am going to enter a new phase of my career and start my own business," Ngai wrote in an e-mail which he distributed to various media organizations on Wednesday.

Star Overseas, owned by Hong Kong comedian Stephen Chow, has been suffering from personnel losses in the past few years, as partners, managers and artists have left the studio one after another for different reasons.

Ngai's announcement has prompted questions about how his resignation will affect the company and Chow's future acting career. But Ngai said the company's movie business is operating smoothly.

The comedy movie "Jump," which stars the company's actress Zhang Yuqi, is scheduled to be released soon, while several other projects, including an animated version of "CJ7," are also under negotiation, the Chengdu Shangbao quoted Ngai as saying.

Ngai also said Chow has already shifted his career focus.

"Actually, Stephen Chow was not only engaged in the movie business," Ngai said. "In the past year, he focused mostly on other fields, which was not well-known by the public."

Ngai said he did not know who would replace him. "It's Chow's business," he said.

Founded in 1996, Star Overseas has produced or co-produced five movies, including the "Kung Fu Hustle" and "CJ7." It also helped turn several actresses such as Huang Shengyi, Zhang Yuqi, and Xu Jiao into film stars.

(CRI August 14, 2009)