Tycoon Lee to back Kwok matriarch
Tycoon Lee Shau-kee says he will follow the lead of Sun Hung Kai Properties' matriarch, Kwong Siu-hing, at tomorrow's board meeting at which Walter Kwok Ping-sheung is expected to be removed as company chairman and chief executive.
Mr Lee said he believed it unlikely that Walter Kwok would win an appeal today against last Friday's ruling by a High Court judge lifting an injunction blocking a meeting of Sun Hung Kai Properties' board.
Friday's ruling stems from a High Court action lodged by Walter Kwok against the company and 16 directors, including his brothers, to prohibit the board from deciding whether he should be removed.
Walter Kwok and his brothers, Thomas Kwok Ping-kwong and Raymond Kwok Ping-luen, have been embroiled in a months-long struggle for control of the property giant.
Mr Lee, chairman of Henderson Land Development and vice-chairman of Sun Hung Kai Properties, is a long-time friend of the Kwok family.
'Kwok's mother has her reasons and she has a strong say as she holds a large stake in [SHKP] through a trust. But she is also good to all of them [Walter Kwok and his two brothers].'
Asked whether the board would appoint the mother to replace Walter Kwok as chairman, Mr Lee did not respond directly, but said: 'There is no choice as it is her responsibility, even though she is older than me, at about 80 years old.'
He refused to comment on Walter Kwok's health but said the entire Kwok family consulted doctors from Stanford University in the US since their late father, Kwok Tak-sing, suffered from heart problems. 'My older partner [Kwok Tak-sing] believed the US had more advanced technology.'
Speaking ahead of the ground breaking ceremony of Henderson Land Development's 10 billion yuan (HK$11.24 billion) Shenyang International Financial Centre, Mr Lee suggested the three Kwok brothers could take turns to be chairman.
'Even presidents of many countries have fixed terms and cannot keep the post forever,' he said.
