SHENZHEN, May 8  -- A Hong Kong tycoon's posthumous donation of his entire fortune to charity has sparked discussion about charitable giving in China.

Yu Pang-lin, who made his money mainly in real estate and hotels, pledged in 2008 that he would give all his wealth, estimated at 7 billion HK dollars (903 million U.S. dollars), to charity. He died aged 93 in the southern Chinese metropolis of Shenzhen earlier this month.

At a memorial service on Thursday, Yu's grandson said, "In accordance with my grandpa's will, all of his fortune and the future profits of his company will be put into a philanthropic trust."

The money is mostly expected to help cataract patients and universities.

Yu's philanthropy has been applauded by the public, with many saying he has set a good example for China's nouveau riche. It begs the question: Will more wealthy Chinese follow in Yu's footsteps?

China boasts 430 individuals with a net worth of at least 1 billion U.S. dollars. That number is second only to the United States, according to the Hurun Global Rich List released earlier this year. But many of the super-rich have been accused of shying away from donating to charity.

In 2010, Bill Gates and Warren Buffett hosted a charity banquet for a select group of Chinese billionaires to promote giving, after they convinced 40 wealthy individuals and their families in the United States to sign the Giving Pledge, a commitment to return the majority of their wealth to society during their lifetime or at their death.

Both Bill and Melinda Gates and Buffett had previously pledged to donate almost all their fortune to charity.

The banquet, seen as a touchstone to test the philanthropic attitudes of Chinese billionaires, created a media buzz.

Chen Guangbiao, CEO of a recycling company in eastern Jiangsu Province, wrote an open letter prior to the banquet, promising to donate all of his fortune after death as a display of "the benevolence and social responsibility of Chinese entrepreneurs".

Some Chinese entrepreneurs, however, do not see eye to eye with the "all-out givers". Zong Qinghou, the billionaire chairman of Chinese drinks maker Hangzhou Wahaha Group, said after the banquet that he "did not appreciate donation pledges of rich men's personal wealth".

"Donation is not charity. A true philanthropist should be able to continuously create social wealth," he said.

Celebrities including Jackie Chan and Chow Yun-fat also courted controversy after retracting earlier statements about giving all their wealth to charity after death.

Many people, including Yu Pang-lin, have argued that one of the key factors preventing more generous charitable giving in China is deep-rooted cultural principles about leaving wealth to descendants.

Charities' transparency is another problem. According to a donor survey conducted by the China Charity &Donation Information Center in 2010, only 25 percent of charity organizations in China were deemed transparent enough when releasing information to the public.

Nearly 90 percent of respondents said they had not received information about how their money had been used.

A Zhejiang millionaire, who wished to be only identified as Lin, said, "It was difficult to find a trustworthy channel for my donations. In the end, I gave the money directly to the people who needed it."

"Lack of regulation of charities in China has led to a crisis of confidence," said Lin, noting that most of his peers were willing to donate but wanted to see more laws in place first.

On microblog Sina Weibo, a netizen with the screen name "Sheshougracelj" said he/she was concerned that donations might fall into the hands of corrupt officials rather than helping those truly in need.

Facing these issues, Chinese tycoons are adopting Western practices by establishing their own foundations to carry out charity work in China.

Jack Ma, the Alibaba chief who became China's richest man last year, announced a joint charity fund with his colleague Cai Chongxin in 2014. Valued at 24 billion yuan (3.87 U.S. dollars), the fund was registered overseas as related regulations were not complete in China. It aims to give money to help with education, environmental protection, health and training in China.

"Here, charity management is not yet mature enough to help such trusts and foundations to grow, so they chose to do it abroad," said Fang Tao, secretary-general of the Shenzhen Charity Federation.

Charity trusts overseas enjoy favorable tax policies, but in China they have to pay taxes just like private trusts, which hinders development, Fang said.

"China could take notes from foreign countries regarding charity work," said Wang Zhenyao, a charity researcher at Beijing Normal University. "With a better environment for charities, maybe there will be more generous donors," he said.