Build good projects in good locations, and people will buy
Karen Li, of Wing Tai Properties, believes in diversification as it will help a company cope with the different market cycles. She also urges positive thinking when facing difficult times
With a 25-year career in property development and hospitality, Karen Li Kan Fung-ling, the director of corporate development at Wing Tai Properties and executive director of Lanson Place Hospitality Management, believes diversification is the key for property groups trying to cope with challenging times.
Born and raised in Hong Kong, Li studied hotel management and international business in universities in the United States.
She started her career with the Hilton hotel group in Los Angeles in the 1980s. She returned to Hong Kong in 1988 to help the group set up Conrad Hotel at Pacific Place. In 1992, she left Hilton and worked at Wharf for two years.
She joined Wing Tai in 1994 when the Singapore company came to Hong Kong to develop its property and hospitality business.
Li shared her views with the South China Morning Post about the outlook for the market, how to cope with down times and why so few women are found on the top rungs of the corporate ladder at property firms.