[10] Cheng attended Taft School in Connecticut[11] and graduated from Harvard University with a Bachelor of Arts (Cum Laude) honours degree.

[2] In 2002, Cheng left UBS AG to join his family's business Chow Tai Fook Holdings.

[5] In October 2020, Cheng oversaw NWD's acquisition of the State Theatre Building in Hong Kong for redevelopment.

[51] Towards the end of the same year, Cheng first mentioned his and New World Developments vision for improving environmental, social, and corporate governance in Hong Kong.

Creating Shared Value, abbreviated to CSV, was Cheng's proposal which he defined as "a connection between social progress and business success."

[59] 11 SKIES was announced as another concept developed by Cheng, which is to be located near Hong Kong International Airport.

[60] In June 2022, Cheng spoke about the expansion of subsidiary Humansa's health and wellness facilities in the Greater Bay Area.

[64] In July 2022, Cheng was part of the Hong Kong honours list, when he received the Silver Bauhinia Star.

[14] In February 2023, it was announced that Cheng had been appointed as non-executive director and a co-chairman of Meta Media Holdings.

[67] As the largest fashion and luxury media organization in China, it was suggested by Forbes that Cheng could assist with the growth of the business internationally.

[68] In July 2024, Cheng received the "Best CEO" award in Institutional Investor's Annual Rankings for the fourth consecutive year.

[69] Ironically, just a few months later he was forced out of his CEO role after New World Development was poised to report a loss close to 20 billion Hong Kong Dollars for the financial year, the worst since the founding and of the company half a century before.

[1] His philanthropic work led him to be featured in the 2017 edition of Asia's Heroes Of Philanthropy, published by Forbes magazine.

[71] Donations were also made to low-income families in Hong Kong and a large shipment of over 1 million masks went to mainland China.

This followed the Chow Tai Fook Charity Foundation donating HK$100 million to the University for investment and research purposes.

[76] Shortly after its launch, donations of essential supplies were made by the private sector on the platform, to assist those affected by coronavirus epidemic.

[78] The non-profit foundation was formed in February 2021 to promote mental well-being for children and their families, following a 40% increase in the number of psychiatric patients aged below 18 over the COVID-19 pandemic period.

[78] In April 2023, Cheng and The WEMP Foundation announced the launch of Action Team to deepen local district effort.

On 13 January 2023, Cheng was appointed as a new member of the Board of Directors of the Financial Services Development Council (FSDC).

[89] Later on 21 February 2023, Hong Kong Government appointed Cheng as one of the members of the Culture Commission for a period of two years from 1 March 2023.

[96] Critics argued that Cheng's focus on creating Instagram-worthy spaces and courting celebrity partnerships has come at the expense of sound financial management and a realistic assessment of market conditions.

Some industry observers thought New World's financial woes lies in the leadership style and business philosophy of Cheng himself.