Tycoon Li Ka-shing joins property magnates calling for Hong Kong to pass political reform
Li Ka-shing warned Hong Kong’s economy would suffer if the government’s political reform package was not approved – but stopped short of saying rejection of the plan would cause him to reduce investment in the city.
Hong Kong's richest man Li Ka-shing warned this morning that the city's economy would suffer if the government’s political reform package was not approved – but stopped short of saying rejection of the plan would cause him to reduce investment here.
Speaking at Cheung Kong Centre in Central, Li, 86, said a failed political reform proposal would be an “unwilling and inestimable loss” for all Hongkongers, including him, ahead of a Legislative Council vote later this month.
Rejection of the package “will hit” the city’s economy, he said.
Li, who also described the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown as “very regrettable”, became at least the fourth property tycoon to weigh in on Hong Kong’s democratic development in two days.
Yesterday, Henderson Land Development chairman Lee Shau-kee, 86, said Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index could rocket through 30,000 points if the package is approved, and he would then make an annual donation of HK$1 billion to charity.
Former Wharf chairman Peter Woo Kwong-ching issued a strongly-worded statement calling on “non-radical” lawmakers to “stand on the side of public wisdom” and support the government proposal, while K Wah Group chairman Lui Che-woo wrote an article saying that as social conflicts had weakened Hong Kong’s competitiveness, different sectors should seek a win-win solution on political reform.