From plastic flowers to property and ports: how Li Ka-shing became a symbol of Hong Kong
The tycoon’s retirement from the global empire he built from scratch marks the end of an era
The retirement of Hong Kong’s richest man, Li Ka-shing, from the helm of the two companies he built up into a global empire, marks the end of the era of the city’s post-war tycoons, largely self-made men whose endeavours helped the former colony evolve from a manufacturing base to a global trade hub.
Li, who turns 90 in July, will hand over the chairmanships of CK Hutchison Holdings and CK Asset Holdings to his elder son, Victor Li Tzar-kuoi. The two firms have telecoms, container ports and real estate interests and a combined market capitalisation of HK$641 billion (US$81.7 billion).
“His retirement is an important watershed. It symbolises the end of the first generation of the tycoon era which set up business after the second world war. They have still been doing business on the old model,” said Professor Joseph Fan of the department of finance at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Courted by China’s leaders in the years before and after the return of Hong Kong, Li had run into criticism in Beijing of late after a series of sales of his companies’ assets in mainland China as part of a restructuring of the businesses. This led to speculation that his star had been fading in China’s leadership circles.
