Li Ka Shing
Encyclopedia
Sir Ka-shing Li, GBM
, KBE
, JP
' onMouseout='HidePop("87742")' href="/topics/Jyutping">Jyutping
: Lei5 Gaa1-sing4, Li2 Gia1-sêng5 gdr
, born June 13, 1928) is a Chinese business magnate
based in Hong Kong
. He is the richest person of East Asia
n descent in the world and the eleventh richest person
in the world with an estimated wealth of US$26.0 billion on 10 March 2011. Presently, he is the Chairman of Hutchison Whampoa Limited (HWL) and Cheung Kong Holdings; through them, he is the world's largest operator of container terminals and the world's largest health and beauty retailer.
Considered one of the most powerful figures in Asia, Li was named "Asia's Most Powerful Man" by Asiaweek
in 2001. His companies make up 15% of the market cap of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange
.http://www.forbes.com/2010/02/24/li-ka-shing-billionaire-hong-kong-richest-opinions-book-excerpt-michael-schuman.html?boxes=Homepagelighttop Forbes Magazine and the Forbes family
honored Li Ka-shing with the first ever "Malcolm S. Forbes Lifetime Achievement Award" on September 5, 2006, in Singapore
. In spite of his wealth, Li has cultivated a reputation for leading a no-frills lifestyle, and is known to wear simple black dress shoes and an inexpensive Seiko
wristwatch, which is at odds with the house he owns in one of Hong Kong's most expensive precincts, Deep Water Bay
. Li is also regarded as one of Asia's most generous philanthropists, donating over US $1.41 billion to date to charity and other various philanthropic causes.
Li is often referred to as "Superman
" in Hong Kong because of his business prowess. His peers in Hong Kong include Lee Shau Kee
of the Henderson Land Development
, New World Development
's Cheng Yu-tung
, casino and property magnate Stanley Ho
, the Kwok family of Sun Hung Kai Properties, and Henry Fok Ying-tung, among others.
in Guangdong
province, Republic of China
in 1928. In 1940 the Li family fled to Hong Kong to avoid turmoil on the Mainland. Li's family stayed at the home of his wealthy uncle. The success of Li's uncle ignited Li's determination to make a place for himself in the world. Li married Chong Yuet Ming, his first cousin and the daughter of his wealthy uncle.
Li's father died in Hong Kong. Shouldering the responsibility of looking after the family's livelihood, Li was forced to leave school before the age of 15 and found a job in a plastics trading company where he labored 16 hours a day. By 1950 he was able to start his own company, Cheung Kong Industries. From manufacturing plastics, Li led and developed his company into a leading real estate investment company in Hong Kong that was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange
in 1972. Cheung Kong expanded by acquiring Hutchison Whampoa and Hongkong Electric Holdings Limited
in 1979 and 1985 respectively.
article summarizes Li's career in the following way:
Li's businesses cover almost every facet of life in Hong Kong, from electricity
to telecommunications, from real estate
to retail
, from shipping
to the Internet
. The Cheung Kong Group's market capitalization is HK $647 billion (US $82.9 billion) as of December 2009 (This includes some double counting of the Group’s controlling stake in 12 listed companies around the world). The group operates in 55 countries and employs over 260,000 staff worldwide.
s manufacturing company in Hong Kong with funds borrowed from family and friends and contacts he cultivated as a salesman. Li avidly read trade publications and business news before deciding to supply the world with high quality plastic flowers at low prices. Li learned the technique of mixing colour with plastics that resemble real flowers. After retooling his shop and hiring the best technicians he could find, he prepared for weeks for the plant visit of a large foreign buyer. Impressed with the quality of Li's plant, the buyer placed a large order. A few years later, Li grew to be the largest supplier of plastic flowers in Asia and made a fortune selling them.
) the longest river in China.
Cheung Kong Holdings was publicly listed in Hong Kong Stock Exchange
in 1972. During board meetings, Li stated on a number of occasions his goal of surpassing the Jardines-owned Hongkong Land
as a leading developer.
The successful bid by Cheung Kong for development sites above the Central and Admiralty MTR stations in 1977 was the key to challenging Hongkong Land as the premier property developer in Hong Kong.
Despite its size, Jardines decided in the 1980s to protect itself from hostile takeover by Li or other outside investors. The company implemented a cross-shareholding structure that was designed to place control in the hands of Britain's Keswick family despite their less than 10% holdings in the group. In 1984, the company also moved its legal domicile from Hong Kong to another British overseas territory - Bermuda
, in anticipation of the transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong to Communist China
in 1997.
. The purchase created a massive conglomerate with business interests in multiple industries. The most notable branch of his business is the investment in container port facilities around the world, including in Hong Kong
, Canada
(Deltaport in Vancouver
), China
, UK, Rotterdam
, Panama
, Bahamas and many developing countries. All in all, his business controls 13% of all container port capacity in the world.
(UK), Marionnaud (France), Kruidvat
(Benelux countries), and in Asia including health & beauty specialist Watson's
Your Personal Store, PARKnSHOP supermarkets, Great Food Hall, TASTE food galleria, gourmet boutique style fine food hall, Fortress electrical appliance stores, Watson’s Wine Cellars and Nuance-Watson airport duty free shops. ASW is also a major producer and distributor of water products and beverages in the region with Watsons Water the top selling brand in Hong Kong.
group has the reputation of being an astute asset trader. It frequently builds up new businesses and sells them off. Huge profits were obtained in the sale of its interest in Orange
to Mannesmann Group in 2001, making a profit of $15.12 billion. In 2006 Li sold 20% of Hutchison's ports business to Singapore
rival PSA Corp., making a $3.12 billion profit on a $4 billion deal.
Recently Hutchison Telecommunications, nearly 50 percent owned by Hutchison Whampoa
, sold a controlling stake of 67% in Hutchison Essar, a joint venture Mobile operator in India, to Vodafone
for $11.1 billion. It had invested roughly $2 billion earlier.
, the Li Ka-shing group is structured to retain disproportionate control without incurring the cost of owning an equivalent economic interest. This separation between control and interest is accomplished through pyramid structure, dual-class equities and cross-holdings. While such structures are rarer in the US and UK, they do exist. For instance, Google
uses a dual-class structure to give its founders and insiders 10 votes for each class-B share while the general public is offered class-A shares with 1 vote each.
. Li Ka Shing Foundation
bought a 0.8% stake in social networking website Facebook
for $120 million in two separate rounds. and invested an estimated $50 million in music streaming service Spotify
. Some time between late 2009 and early 2010, Li Ka-shing led a $15.5 million Series B round of financing for Siri
, an artificial intelligence
based virtual personal assistant
application for the iPhone
.
and Canada
. He was the single largest shareholder of Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce
(CIBC), the fifth largest bank in Canada until the sale of his share in 2005 (with all proceedings donated, see below). He is also the majority shareholder of a major energy company, Husky Energy
, based in Alberta
, Canada
.
In January 2005, Li announced plans to sell his $1.2 billion CAD
stake in the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce
, with all proceeds going to private charitable foundations established by Li including the Li Ka Shing Foundation
in Hong Kong and the Li Ka Shing (Canada) Foundation based in Toronto, Canada.
Li has some real estate interest in Vancouver
, specifically in connection with Concord Pacific Developments
that developed the old Expo '86 lands in Yaletown
, as well as Concord Park Place
and CityPlace, Toronto
in Toronto
.
and Richard Li
are also prominent figures in the Hong Kong business scene. Victor Li works directly with his father as managing director and deputy chairman of Cheung Kong (Holdings) Limited, while Richard Li is the head of PCCW
, the largest telecom company in Hong Kong. They are both Canadian citizens.
Li is famously plainly dressed for a Hong Kong tycoon. In the 1990s he wore a $50 timepiece from Citizen Watch Co.
and plain ties. He now wears a Seiko
.
Even at his age, Li remains physically fit, and says that no matter what time he sleeps at night, he gets up before 6 am each morning to play golf for about an hour and a half. His golfing partner is Hong Kong movie mogul Raymond Chow. Li says that during that time, '...the ninety minutes that I have are mine.' His preferable amount of time for sleep is eight hours. It is also said that he walks on the treadmill for fifteen minutes a day at noon.
. In 2006, Li pledged to donate one-third of his fortune to charity and philanthropic projects throughout the world — a pledge estimated at over US$10 billion.
To date, Mr. Li has given away well over US$1 billion in philanthropy via his Li Ka-Shing Foundation and other private charitable Foundations
Grand Bauhinia Medal
The Grand Bauhinia Medal the highest award under the Hong Kong honours and awards system, is to recognise the selected person's lifelong and highly significant contribution to the well-being of Hong Kong. The awardee is entitled to the postnominal letters GBM and the style "The Honorable"...
, KBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
, JP
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
' onMouseout='HidePop("87742")' href="/topics/Jyutping">Jyutping
Jyutping
Jyutping is a romanization system for Cantonese developed by the Linguistic Society of Hong Kong in 1993. Its formal name is The Linguistic Society of Hong Kong Cantonese Romanization Scheme...
: Lei5 Gaa1-sing4, Li2 Gia1-sêng5 gdr
Guangdong Romanization
Guangdong Romanization refers to the four romanization schemes published by the Guangdong Provincial Education Department in 1960 for transliterating the Cantonese, Teochew, Hakka, and Hainanese...
, born June 13, 1928) is a Chinese business magnate
Business magnate
A business magnate, sometimes referred to as a capitalist, czar, mogul, tycoon, baron, oligarch, or industrialist, is an informal term used to refer to an entrepreneur who has reached prominence and derived a notable amount of wealth from a particular industry .-Etymology:The word magnate itself...
based in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
. He is the richest person of East Asia
East Asia
East Asia or Eastern Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms...
n descent in the world and the eleventh richest person
Forbes list of billionaires
Forbes list of billionaires is based on an annual assessment of wealth and assets compiled and published by Forbes magazine on March 10, 2011.-Forbes list of billionaires :...
in the world with an estimated wealth of US$26.0 billion on 10 March 2011. Presently, he is the Chairman of Hutchison Whampoa Limited (HWL) and Cheung Kong Holdings; through them, he is the world's largest operator of container terminals and the world's largest health and beauty retailer.
Considered one of the most powerful figures in Asia, Li was named "Asia's Most Powerful Man" by Asiaweek
Asiaweek
Asiaweek, the English edition, was a news magazine focusing on Asia, published weekly by Asiaweek Limited, a subsidiary of Time Inc. Based in Hong Kong, it was established in 1975, and ceased publication with its December 7, 2001 issue due to a "downturn in the advertising market," according to...
in 2001. His companies make up 15% of the market cap of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange
Hong Kong Stock Exchange
The Hong Kong Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in Hong Kong. It is Asia's third largest stock exchange in terms of market capitalization behind the Tokyo Stock Exchange and the Shanghai Stock Exchange and fifth largest in the world...
.http://www.forbes.com/2010/02/24/li-ka-shing-billionaire-hong-kong-richest-opinions-book-excerpt-michael-schuman.html?boxes=Homepagelighttop Forbes Magazine and the Forbes family
Forbes family
The Forbes family is a wealthy extended American family originating in Boston. The family's fortune originates from trading between North America and China in the 19th century plus other investments in the same period. The name descends from Scottish immigrants, and can be traced back to Sir John...
honored Li Ka-shing with the first ever "Malcolm S. Forbes Lifetime Achievement Award" on September 5, 2006, in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
. In spite of his wealth, Li has cultivated a reputation for leading a no-frills lifestyle, and is known to wear simple black dress shoes and an inexpensive Seiko
Seiko
, more commonly known simply as Seiko , is a Japanese watch company.-History and ongoing developments:The company was founded in 1881, when Kintarō Hattori opened a watch and jewelry shop called in the Ginza area of Tokyo, Japan. Eleven years later, in 1892, he began to produce clocks under the...
wristwatch, which is at odds with the house he owns in one of Hong Kong's most expensive precincts, Deep Water Bay
Deep Water Bay
Deep Water Bay is a bay on the southern shore of Hong Kong Island in Hong Kong. The bay is surrounded by Shouson Hill, Brick Hill, Violet Hill and Middle Island.Beneath the hill of Violet Hill is a beach, Deep Water Bay Beach...
. Li is also regarded as one of Asia's most generous philanthropists, donating over US $1.41 billion to date to charity and other various philanthropic causes.
Li is often referred to as "Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
" in Hong Kong because of his business prowess. His peers in Hong Kong include Lee Shau Kee
Lee Shau Kee
Lee Shau-kee GBM is a property developer and majority owner of Henderson Land Development , a property conglomerate with interests in properties, hotels, restaurants and internet services...
of the Henderson Land Development
Henderson Land Development
Henderson Land Development Co. Ltd. is a listed property company and a constituent of the Hang Seng Index. The company's principal activities are property development and investment, project management, construction, hotel operation, department store operation, finance, investment holding and...
, New World Development
New World Development
New World Development Company Limited , based in Hong Kong, is active in property, infrastructure, services and telecommunications. It was established in 1970 with Dr Ho Sin Hang as Chairman and Chow Chi Yuen as Director and General Manager...
's Cheng Yu-tung
Cheng Yu-tung
Cheng Yu-tung GBM is a Hong Kong billionaire with extensive business dealings and real estate interests in both Hong Kong and Macau. He owns the privately-held Chow Tai Fook Enterprises, a conglomerate which operates the Sheraton Marina hotel and controls the publicly listed New World group...
, casino and property magnate Stanley Ho
Stanley Ho
Stanley Ho, GBM, GLM, GBS, GML, OBE , also known as Ho Hung Sun, Stanley Ho Hung Sun, is an entrepreneur in Hong Kong and Macau. Ho is sometimes nicknamed "The King of Gambling", reflecting the government-granted monopoly he held of the Macau gambling industry for 40 years...
, the Kwok family of Sun Hung Kai Properties, and Henry Fok Ying-tung, among others.
Early life
Li Ka-shing was born in ChaozhouChaozhou
Chaozhou is a city in eastern Guangdong province of the People's Republic of China. It borders Shantou to the south, Jieyang to the southwest, Meizhou to the northwest, the province of Fujian to the east, and the South China Sea to the southeast...
in Guangdong
Guangdong
Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...
province, Republic of China
Republic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...
in 1928. In 1940 the Li family fled to Hong Kong to avoid turmoil on the Mainland. Li's family stayed at the home of his wealthy uncle. The success of Li's uncle ignited Li's determination to make a place for himself in the world. Li married Chong Yuet Ming, his first cousin and the daughter of his wealthy uncle.
Li's father died in Hong Kong. Shouldering the responsibility of looking after the family's livelihood, Li was forced to leave school before the age of 15 and found a job in a plastics trading company where he labored 16 hours a day. By 1950 he was able to start his own company, Cheung Kong Industries. From manufacturing plastics, Li led and developed his company into a leading real estate investment company in Hong Kong that was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange
Hong Kong Stock Exchange
The Hong Kong Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in Hong Kong. It is Asia's third largest stock exchange in terms of market capitalization behind the Tokyo Stock Exchange and the Shanghai Stock Exchange and fifth largest in the world...
in 1972. Cheung Kong expanded by acquiring Hutchison Whampoa and Hongkong Electric Holdings Limited
Hongkong Electric
Power Assets Holdings Limited is a vertically integrated electric utility company. Its subsidiary Hongkong Electric Company was the first company to provide electricity in Hong Kong. The service has been running in continuation since the 19th century...
in 1979 and 1985 respectively.
Businesses
A Harvard Business SchoolHarvard Business School
Harvard Business School is the graduate business school of Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts, United States and is widely recognized as one of the top business schools in the world. The school offers the world's largest full-time MBA program, doctoral programs, and many executive...
article summarizes Li's career in the following way:
Li's businesses cover almost every facet of life in Hong Kong, from electricity
Electricity
Electricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...
to telecommunications, from real estate
Real estate
In general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or...
to retail
Retail
Retail consists of the sale of physical goods or merchandise from a fixed location, such as a department store, boutique or kiosk, or by mail, in small or individual lots for direct consumption by the purchaser. Retailing may include subordinated services, such as delivery. Purchasers may be...
, from shipping
Shipping
Shipping has multiple meanings. It can be a physical process of transporting commodities and merchandise goods and cargo, by land, air, and sea. It also can describe the movement of objects by ship.Land or "ground" shipping can be by train or by truck...
to the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
. The Cheung Kong Group's market capitalization is HK $647 billion (US $82.9 billion) as of December 2009 (This includes some double counting of the Group’s controlling stake in 12 listed companies around the world). The group operates in 55 countries and employs over 260,000 staff worldwide.
Plastics manufacturing
In 1950, after learning how to operate a plant, Li founded a plasticPlastic
A plastic material is any of a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic solids used in the manufacture of industrial products. Plastics are typically polymers of high molecular mass, and may contain other substances to improve performance and/or reduce production costs...
s manufacturing company in Hong Kong with funds borrowed from family and friends and contacts he cultivated as a salesman. Li avidly read trade publications and business news before deciding to supply the world with high quality plastic flowers at low prices. Li learned the technique of mixing colour with plastics that resemble real flowers. After retooling his shop and hiring the best technicians he could find, he prepared for weeks for the plant visit of a large foreign buyer. Impressed with the quality of Li's plant, the buyer placed a large order. A few years later, Li grew to be the largest supplier of plastic flowers in Asia and made a fortune selling them.
Real estate
In 1958, unable to renew the lease for his company, Li was forced to purchase and develop a site by himself. An opportunity to acquire land arrived after the 1967 riots were in full swing when many people fled Hong Kong. As a result, property prices plummeted. Li, believing the political crisis would be temporary, and property prices would eventually rise, bought parcels of land at low prices. By 1971, Li officially named his real estate development company Cheung Kong (長江實業), named after Cheung Kong, (Chang Jiang or the Yangtze RiverYangtze River
The Yangtze, Yangzi or Cháng Jiāng is the longest river in Asia, and the third-longest in the world. It flows for from the glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau in Qinghai eastward across southwest, central and eastern China before emptying into the East China Sea at Shanghai. It is also one of the...
) the longest river in China.
Cheung Kong Holdings was publicly listed in Hong Kong Stock Exchange
Hong Kong Stock Exchange
The Hong Kong Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in Hong Kong. It is Asia's third largest stock exchange in terms of market capitalization behind the Tokyo Stock Exchange and the Shanghai Stock Exchange and fifth largest in the world...
in 1972. During board meetings, Li stated on a number of occasions his goal of surpassing the Jardines-owned Hongkong Land
Hongkong Land
Hongkong Land is one of Asia’s leading property investment, management and development groups with premium commercial and residential property interests across the region. It owns and manages some five million square feet of commercial space in Hong Kong’s Central Business District serving...
as a leading developer.
The successful bid by Cheung Kong for development sites above the Central and Admiralty MTR stations in 1977 was the key to challenging Hongkong Land as the premier property developer in Hong Kong.
Despite its size, Jardines decided in the 1980s to protect itself from hostile takeover by Li or other outside investors. The company implemented a cross-shareholding structure that was designed to place control in the hands of Britain's Keswick family despite their less than 10% holdings in the group. In 1984, the company also moved its legal domicile from Hong Kong to another British overseas territory - Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
, in anticipation of the transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong to Communist China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
in 1997.
Ports and electricity
In 1979, Li closed a unique transaction and acquired his current flagship company Hutchison Whampoa Limited from HSBCHSBC
HSBC Holdings plc is a global banking and financial services company headquartered in Canary Wharf, London, United Kingdom. it is the world's second-largest banking and financial services group and second-largest public company according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine...
. The purchase created a massive conglomerate with business interests in multiple industries. The most notable branch of his business is the investment in container port facilities around the world, including in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
(Deltaport in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
), China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
, UK, Rotterdam
Rotterdam
Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
, Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
, Bahamas and many developing countries. All in all, his business controls 13% of all container port capacity in the world.
Retail
A subsidiary of Hutchison Whampoa, the A.S. Watson Group is a leading retail operator with over 7,800 stores. Its portfolio encompasses popular retail brands in Europe such as SuperdrugSuperdrug
Superdrug Stores PLC is Britain's second-largest beauty and health retailer behind Boots. Superdrug - part of the AS Watson Group which in turn is part of the Hong Kong conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa - is a UK based company with over 890 stores, which since 2006, includes the Republic of Ireland...
(UK), Marionnaud (France), Kruidvat
Kruidvat
Kruidvat is a Dutch retail, pharmacy, health and beauty chain which also has branches in Belgium. The first Kruidvat was opened in 1975 by Dick Siebrand. In addition to Kruidvat itself, Kruidvat Holding also owned ICI Paris XL and Trekpleister in the Netherlands and Belgium...
(Benelux countries), and in Asia including health & beauty specialist Watson's
Watson's
Watson's or Watson's is part of the Health and Beauty retail and consumer division of the Hong Kong-based A.S. Watson Group, which in turn is part of the world wide conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa Ltd...
Your Personal Store, PARKnSHOP supermarkets, Great Food Hall, TASTE food galleria, gourmet boutique style fine food hall, Fortress electrical appliance stores, Watson’s Wine Cellars and Nuance-Watson airport duty free shops. ASW is also a major producer and distributor of water products and beverages in the region with Watsons Water the top selling brand in Hong Kong.
Asset trader
Hutchison WhampoaHutchison Whampoa
Hutchison Whampoa Limited or HWL of Hong Kong is a Fortune 500 company and one of the largest companies listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. HWL is an international corporation with a diverse array of holdings which includes the world's biggest port and telecommunication operations in 14...
group has the reputation of being an astute asset trader. It frequently builds up new businesses and sells them off. Huge profits were obtained in the sale of its interest in Orange
Orange SA
Orange is the brand used by France Télécom for its mobile network operator and Internet service provider subsidiaries. It is the fifth largest telecom operator in the world, with 210 million customers . The brand was created in 1994 for Hutchison Telecom's UK mobile phone network, which was...
to Mannesmann Group in 2001, making a profit of $15.12 billion. In 2006 Li sold 20% of Hutchison's ports business to Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
rival PSA Corp., making a $3.12 billion profit on a $4 billion deal.
Recently Hutchison Telecommunications, nearly 50 percent owned by Hutchison Whampoa
Hutchison Whampoa
Hutchison Whampoa Limited or HWL of Hong Kong is a Fortune 500 company and one of the largest companies listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. HWL is an international corporation with a diverse array of holdings which includes the world's biggest port and telecommunication operations in 14...
, sold a controlling stake of 67% in Hutchison Essar, a joint venture Mobile operator in India, to Vodafone
Vodafone
Vodafone Group Plc is a global telecommunications company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world's largest mobile telecommunications company measured by revenues and the world's second-largest measured by subscribers , with around 341 million proportionate subscribers as of...
for $11.1 billion. It had invested roughly $2 billion earlier.
Pyramid structure
Like many Asian conglomeratesConglomerate (company)
A conglomerate is a combination of two or more corporations engaged in entirely different businesses that fall under one corporate structure , usually involving a parent company and several subsidiaries. Often, a conglomerate is a multi-industry company...
, the Li Ka-shing group is structured to retain disproportionate control without incurring the cost of owning an equivalent economic interest. This separation between control and interest is accomplished through pyramid structure, dual-class equities and cross-holdings. While such structures are rarer in the US and UK, they do exist. For instance, Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
uses a dual-class structure to give its founders and insiders 10 votes for each class-B share while the general public is offered class-A shares with 1 vote each.
Internet
His investment company, Horizons Ventures bought a stake in doubleTwistDoubleTwist
doubleTwist Corporation is a digital media company founded by Monique Farantzos and Jon Lech Johansen. It is backed by Index Ventures and Northzone Ventures....
. Li Ka Shing Foundation
Li Ka Shing Foundation
The Li Ka Shing Foundation is a Hong Kong and Canada-based charitable organization founded in 1980 by Hong Kong entrepreneur and philanthropist Li Ka Shing, with a mission to nurture "a culture of giving" in society...
bought a 0.8% stake in social networking website Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
for $120 million in two separate rounds. and invested an estimated $50 million in music streaming service Spotify
Spotify
Spotify is a Swedish-founded, UK-headquartered DRM-based music streaming service offering streaming of selected music from a range of major and independent record labels, including Sony, EMI, Warner Music Group, and Universal. Launched in October 2008 by Swedish startup Spotify AB, the service had...
. Some time between late 2009 and early 2010, Li Ka-shing led a $15.5 million Series B round of financing for Siri
Siri Personal Assistant
Siri is an intelligent software assistant and knowledge navigator functioning as a personal assistant application for iOS. The application uses a natural language user interface to answer questions, make recommendations, and perform actions by delegating requests to a set of web services...
, an artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
based virtual personal assistant
Personal assistant
A personal assistant or personal aide is someone who assists in daily business or personal tasks. It is common in design to have a PDA, or personal design assistant....
application for the iPhone
IPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
.
Others
Besides business through his flagship companies Cheung Kong Holdings and Hutchison Whampoa, Li Ka-shing also personally has extensively invested in real estate in SingaporeSingapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. He was the single largest shareholder of Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce
The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce is one of Canada's chartered banks, fifth largest by deposits. The bank is headquartered at Commerce Court in Toronto, Ontario. CIBC's Institution Number is 010, and its SWIFT code is CIBCCATT....
(CIBC), the fifth largest bank in Canada until the sale of his share in 2005 (with all proceedings donated, see below). He is also the majority shareholder of a major energy company, Husky Energy
Husky Energy
Husky Energy Inc. is a large integrated Canadian energy company based in Calgary, Alberta. Husky's foundation is in Western Canada, where it has extensive conventional oil and natural gas assets, significant heavy oil production and a range of midstream and downstream operations, including...
, based in Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
In January 2005, Li announced plans to sell his $1.2 billion CAD
Canadian dollar
The Canadian dollar is the currency of Canada. As of 2007, the Canadian dollar is the 7th most traded currency in the world. It is abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or C$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...
stake in the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce
The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce is one of Canada's chartered banks, fifth largest by deposits. The bank is headquartered at Commerce Court in Toronto, Ontario. CIBC's Institution Number is 010, and its SWIFT code is CIBCCATT....
, with all proceeds going to private charitable foundations established by Li including the Li Ka Shing Foundation
Li Ka Shing Foundation
The Li Ka Shing Foundation is a Hong Kong and Canada-based charitable organization founded in 1980 by Hong Kong entrepreneur and philanthropist Li Ka Shing, with a mission to nurture "a culture of giving" in society...
in Hong Kong and the Li Ka Shing (Canada) Foundation based in Toronto, Canada.
Li has some real estate interest in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, specifically in connection with Concord Pacific Developments
Concord Pacific Developments
Concord Pacific Developments is a Canadian residential developer and real estate investment firm with focus on projects in Vancouver, BC and Toronto, ON...
that developed the old Expo '86 lands in Yaletown
Yaletown
Yaletown is an area of Downtown Vancouver approximately bordered by False Creek, Robson, and Homer Streets. Formerly a heavy industrial area dominated by warehouses and rail yards, since the Expo 86, it has been transformed into one of the most densely populated neighbourhoods in the city...
, as well as Concord Park Place
Concord Park Place
Concord Park Place is a , master-planned multi-tower condominium complex currently under construction in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, between Sheppard Avenue, Leslie Street, Highway 401, and Bessarion Road....
and CityPlace, Toronto
CityPlace, Toronto
CityPlace is the name given to a large section of former railway land in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada that has been redeveloped for multi-use purpose. The term has been more recently used for a large up-scale multi-tower condo development in the Harbourfront district. When completed, this area...
in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
.
Personal Life
His two sons Victor LiVictor Li
Victor Li Tzar-kuoi is a Hong Kong-based businessman with Canadian citizenship. He is the son of tycoon Li Ka-shing and the brother of Richard Li. Li had a net worth of $730 million CDN in 2006. -Early years:...
and Richard Li
Richard Li
Richard Li Tzar Kai is the younger son of successful entrepreneur Li Ka-Shing and brother of Victor Li.Li was 26th in the Forbes List of Hong Kong’s 40 Richest people for 2010...
are also prominent figures in the Hong Kong business scene. Victor Li works directly with his father as managing director and deputy chairman of Cheung Kong (Holdings) Limited, while Richard Li is the head of PCCW
PCCW
PCCW Limited is the holding company of HKT Group Holdings Limited, Hong Kong's premier telecommunications provider in the Information and Communications Technologies industry. PCCW also holds a majority interest in Pacific Century Premium Developments Limited...
, the largest telecom company in Hong Kong. They are both Canadian citizens.
Li is famously plainly dressed for a Hong Kong tycoon. In the 1990s he wore a $50 timepiece from Citizen Watch Co.
Citizen Watch Co.
is the core company of a Japanese global corporate group based in Tokyo, Japan. The company was originally founded as Shokosha Watch Research Institute in 1918 and is currently known as the manufacturer of CINCOM precision lathe machine tools as well as CITIZEN watches. The trade name originated...
and plain ties. He now wears a Seiko
Seiko
, more commonly known simply as Seiko , is a Japanese watch company.-History and ongoing developments:The company was founded in 1881, when Kintarō Hattori opened a watch and jewelry shop called in the Ginza area of Tokyo, Japan. Eleven years later, in 1892, he began to produce clocks under the...
.
Even at his age, Li remains physically fit, and says that no matter what time he sleeps at night, he gets up before 6 am each morning to play golf for about an hour and a half. His golfing partner is Hong Kong movie mogul Raymond Chow. Li says that during that time, '...the ninety minutes that I have are mine.' His preferable amount of time for sleep is eight hours. It is also said that he walks on the treadmill for fifteen minutes a day at noon.
Awards and honours
- Grand Bauhinia MedalGrand Bauhinia MedalThe Grand Bauhinia Medal the highest award under the Hong Kong honours and awards system, is to recognise the selected person's lifelong and highly significant contribution to the well-being of Hong Kong. The awardee is entitled to the postnominal letters GBM and the style "The Honorable"...
- Knight Commander of the Order of the British EmpireOrder of the British EmpireThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
- Commandeur, Légion d'honneurLégion d'honneurThe Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
Philanthropy
Li is a noted philanthropistPhilanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
. In 2006, Li pledged to donate one-third of his fortune to charity and philanthropic projects throughout the world — a pledge estimated at over US$10 billion.
- His donation in 1981 resulted in the founding of Shantou UniversityShantou UniversityShantou University is a provincial level University in the Guangdong city of Shantou. It was authorised and established in 1981 by the State Council and Guangdong Government under the “Project 211” program. Mr. Li Ka-shing, a global businessman and philanthropist, contributed HK $3.1 billion to...
, near his hometown of ChaozhouChaozhouChaozhou is a city in eastern Guangdong province of the People's Republic of China. It borders Shantou to the south, Jieyang to the southwest, Meizhou to the northwest, the province of Fujian to the east, and the South China Sea to the southeast...
.
- Li was invited by Chinese leader Deng XiaopingDeng XiaopingDeng Xiaoping was a Chinese politician, statesman, and diplomat. As leader of the Communist Party of China, Deng was a reformer who led China towards a market economy...
to become a member of the board of directors of the China International Trust and Investment Corporation (CITIC) to support the economic reform initiatives that Deng was attempting to develop. CITIC is China's largest conglomerate and is 42 percent owned by the government of ChinaGovernment of the People's Republic of ChinaAll power within the government of the People's Republic of China is divided among three bodies: the People's Republic of China, State Council, and the People's Liberation Army . This article is concerned with the formal structure of the state, its departments and their responsibilities...
. It serves as the chief investment arm of China's central government and holds ministry status on the Chinese State CouncilState Council of the People's Republic of ChinaThe State Council of the People's Republic of China , which is largely synonymous with the Central People's Government after 1954, is the chief administrative authority of the People's Republic of China. It is chaired by the Premier and includes the heads of each governmental department and agency...
. Li served only one year on CITIC's board before resigning his directorship. He was the non-executive director of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation since 1980 and became Deputy Chairman of the bank in 1985. He was also Deputy Chairman of HSBC Holdings in 1991-1992.
- The Li Ka Shing Centre in CambridgeCambridgeThe city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
, EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, houses a Cancer Research UKCancer Research UKCancer Research UK is a cancer research and awareness charity in the United Kingdom, formed on 4 February 2002 by the merger of The Cancer Research Campaign and the Imperial Cancer Research Fund. Its aim is to reduce the number of deaths from cancer. As the world's largest independent cancer...
facility with strong links to the University of CambridgeUniversity of CambridgeThe University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
. The Centre was named after Mr Li following a £5.3 million donation, and was opened in his presence in May 2002. The Li Ka Shing Foundation endowed a professorship of oncologyOncologyOncology is a branch of medicine that deals with cancer...
at the university in 2007 with a subsequent gift of £2 million.
- The Li Ka Shing Library at the Singapore Management UniversitySingapore Management UniversityThe Singapore Management University was officially incorporated on January 12, 2000, and was Singapore's first private university funded by the government...
is also named in his honor after a US$11.5 million donation in 2002 to the higher education institution.
- After the 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake2004 Indian Ocean earthquakeThe 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea megathrust earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on Sunday, December 26, 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The quake itself is known by the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake...
disaster, he reportedly pledged a total of US$3 million.
- In 2005, Li announced a HK$1 billion (US$128 million) donation to the Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong. It was renamed to Li Ka Shing Faculty of MedicineLi Ka Shing Faculty of MedicineThe Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine of the University of Hong Kong is the older of the two medical schools in Hong Kong , and is among the oldest in the Far East.-History:...
on January 1, 2006, which provoked controversy between the university and a few alumni of the faculty, notably Kwok Ka KiKwok Ka KiKwok Ka Ki was an elected member of Central and Western District Council and a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong , in the Medical functional constituency. He is a private urology doctor, and graduated from the Faculty of Medicine, the University of Hong Kong...
, over the university's naming procedures.
- Also in 2005, Li donated US$40 million to the University of California, BerkeleyUniversity of California, BerkeleyThe University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
, citing that he was impressed with the university's accomplishments in the biosciences. In recognition of Li's donation, the university has named the campus' new biosciences facility the Li Ka Shing Center for Biomedical and Health Sciences; it is currently under construction.
- A long-time supporter of Stanford University since the 1980s, Li is the principal benefactor to the new US$90 million Li Ka-shing Center for Learning and Knowledge, part of the School of Medicine.
- On March 9, 2007, Li Ka-shing contributed S$100 million to the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in the National University of SingaporeNational University of SingaporeThe National University of Singapore is Singapore's oldest university. It is the largest university in the country in terms of student enrollment and curriculum offered....
. Also, "to honour and recognise Dr Li's support and generosity, LKY SPP will name one of its three buildings at the historic Bukit Timah Campus after him".
- Li Ka-shing donated CAD$25 million to St. Michael's Hospital in TorontoTorontoToronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
to found the Li Ka-Shing Knowledge Institute, which will serve as a medical research and education centre in downtown Toronto.
- Li Ka-shing (through the Li Ka-shing foundation) donated HK$30 million (US$3.85 million) to aid relief efforts in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake2008 Sichuan earthquakeThe 2008 Sichuan earthquake or the Great Sichuan Earthquake was a deadly earthquake that measured at 8.0 Msand 7.9 Mw occurred at 14:28:01 CST...
To date, Mr. Li has given away well over US$1 billion in philanthropy via his Li Ka-Shing Foundation and other private charitable Foundations
Press
- Time Asia
- Chronicle of Philanthropy
- Wall Street Journal
- Financial Times (UK)
- L'Expansion (French Press)
External links
- Li Ka-shing Biography, Reference for Business
- Cheung Kong Holdings Limited
- Hutchison Whampoa Limited
- Li Ka Shing Foundation - founded by Li Ka-shing, dedicated to funding education and medical care.
- Li Ka Shing: The superman of the orient
- World's Most Powerful Men
- New Ruler of the Information Superhighway
- Li Ka Shing Interview Video & Documentary, RTHK 1998