Leave Li Ka-shing alone: Chinese newspaper says whether he pulls investments from mainland is just business, not an economic indicator
Beijing News latest to enter the fray, defending HK tycoon's decision to scale back after think tank said: 'Don't let Li Ka-shing run away'
Debate over tycoon Li Ka-shing's move to pull business out of China has sparked a furore on the mainland, with more media wading into the fray.
In the latest development, a commentary published yesterday in the Beijing News, which is run by the capital's municipal propaganda department, defended Li's decision and warned against reading too much into the move.
It said in "the age of a globalised economy", it was a common strategy for business leaders to move their capital around the world for better returns.
"Li Ka-shing's leaving or staying actually is no indication of China's economy," the commentary, which was also carried by the People's Daily website, said.
This came just a day after the Securities Times, which is directly under People's Daily, ran another critical commentary.
It named several reasons why Li was reorganising his business empire. It noted that the mainland property market had already seen a decade of fast expansion and prosperity and it was natural that Li wanted to cash out and lower his business risks.