Mr. ShangkongWhose city will Hong Kong be after Li Ka-shing family is gone?
Li Ka-shing reorganisation fuels speculation he is exiting the city, but who would take his place
For decades Hong Kong had the nickname "Li Family City", using the same Cantonese pronunciation as Li Ka-shing, the city's richest man.
Philosophically speaking, nothing stays the same forever. So, following Li's latest decision to reorganise his business empire, the question is whether he still likes the idea of Hong Kong being called "his city".
This is a subject Li, the chairman of Cheung Kong (Holdings) and Hutchison Whampoa, has faced for the past few years whenever he was asked about his retirement plans, or about the more politically sensitive subject of the relationship between Hong Kong and the mainland.
Or in other words, how much trust Beijing would continue to have in Hong Kong tycoons such as Li - which would have important and long-term impact on Li's business empire in Hong Kong and around the world.
Li surprised the market on Friday by deciding to reorganise his business empire into two new groups - one for property-related assets and the other for assets such as natural resources, telecommunications and infrastructure. Many non-property investments are already outside Hong Kong and the mainland.
Perhaps the most interesting detail in the reorganisation is the two new groups will be incorporated in the Cayman Islands, a British overseas territory in the Caribbean which is known as a tax haven for many multinational corporations.
Asked if such a move would be considered a retreat from Hong Kong, Li denied it.