He became a clerk at the Hong Kong Observatory and later went into business and became a comprador of the West Point Godown Company in 1888 and of A. S. Watson from 1893.

Along with Sir Robert Hotung, Lau was an early developer of the West Hung Hom (now East Tsim Sha Tsui) area of Kowloon in the 1890s.

[1] He held various public posts, including the chairmanship of Po Leung Kuk and Tung Wah Hospital, and was a member of the District Watch Committee and the Sanitary Board.

In 1921, Lau and fellow Legislative Councillor Ho Fook established the Society for the Protection of the Mui Tsai, an initiative aimed at curbing the demise of the mui-tsai system, a form of child slavery in which young girls were bought and sold in Hong Kong and other parts of China.

The society had the backing of Chinese community leaders including Ts'o Seen Wan, Chow Shou-son and Ho Kom-tong.