Topic

Li Ka-shingi

Li Ka-shing is Hong Kong's richest person. He is chairman of the board of conglomerate CK Hutchison Holdings.

Advertisement

As the city’s second richest man retires, and another tycoon leaves jail to hand business over to his son, local developers are being eclipsed by the inflow of red capital from the connections they enjoyed

The city’s first generation of high-powered billionaires had lifelong friendships with top men north of the border. With ‘superman’ stepping down and a new style of leader in Xi Jinping, that looks to have changed.

  • Arrest brings back memories of gunfights on the streets between police and armed gangs
  • Hong Kong suffered wave of armed robberies because higher living standards than China made city easy target
Advertisement
Advertisement

Homebuyers in Hong Kong have continued to flock to projects that offer them best value for their money, with CK Asset Holding selling almost all units in the latest batch of its Coastline project on Sunday.

videocam

Some of Hong Kong’s biggest developers have lined up sales of residential projects with revised price lists, using CK Asset’s Coast Line as a benchmark to attract cautious buyers.

The developers behind Villa Garda III housing project in Hong Kong have hastened its sales campaign, releasing its first price list at discounts in response to the renewed buying interest sparked by CK Asset’s successful launch.

Hong Kong property developer CK Asset Holdings has released the price list for the first 50 units at its Coast Line I project just two days after homebuyers snapped up all 626 apartments in Coast Line II on Saturday.

A serendipitous meeting more than 10 years ago between a telecoms titan and a former Vietnamese refugee sowed the seeds for an insurance company that today covers against risks in seven countries along the ancient Silk Road.

‘As a developer you want your money back as soon as possible, and also to get a profit,’ an expert says. It’s advice the flagship developer of billionaire Li Ka-shing has long held close to its heart.

CK Asset expanded the Coast Line II sale from 254 to 626 flats, and analysts say the low average price of HK$14,686 (US$1,880) per square foot will pressure other developers to cut prices in future launches.

Developer cuts prices at Coast Line II in Kowloon to US$1,921 per square foot – 16 per cent below other recent launches – in a bid to boost buyer sentiment in a slumping market.

Citi and Jefferies, which have lowered their target prices for the developer’s stock, see more buy-backs as likely given that the company has ‘limited positive catalysts’ to drive its stock price in the near term.

CK Hutchison Holdings and CK Asset Holdings, the two flagship companies of Hong Kong’s richest man Li Ka-shing, reported a drop in their first-half earnings, as the high interest rate environment continued to pile pressure on businesses in the city.

videocam

CK Asset cited high interest rates as a factor in the collapse of the deal for 148 units in the 21 Borrett Road development, after buyer LC Vision Capital 1 failed to make a US$133 million payment.

CK Asset Holdings will soon launch its The Coast Line residential project in Yau Tong, becoming the latest company to offer a new development in the city’s weakening housing market.

The flagship property developer of billionaire Li Ka-shing and his family said 64 per cent of the shareholders of the real estate investment trust had approved its offer to buy the company for about £485 million.

Vodafone will own 51 per cent of the joint venture, which will combine its domestic mobile business with CK Hutchison’s Three UK operations and create Britain’s largest mobile provider in a deal worth US$15.7 billion.

videocam

From India’s energy magnates Gautam Adani and Mukesh Ambani to China’s Zhong Shanshan and Pony Ma Huateng, which billionaires in Asia are giving back big?

The younger Li’s comment underscores how many of the world’s biggest and wiliest investors are taking advantage of cheap valuations caused by the pandemic-led global economic slump to hunt for bargains.

CK Hutchison’s Wind Tre will transfer its active network equipment and wholesale mobile and wholesale fixed communications services business in Italy to the new company, which will have an enterprise value of US$3.7 billion.

In an opinion piece for the Post, trade minister Dominic Johnson says he will meet leading investors and government officials to capitalise on Hong Kong’s commercial success.

videocam

Fintech unicorn Airwallex reported a strong growth in cross-border payments in the first quarter amid a revival in travel. Revenue grew 207 per cent on the back of a 142 per cent increase in new customers.

videocam

From ‘Superman’ Li Ka Shing and Lane Crawford’s Peter Woo to Joseph Lau, who owns over US$1 billion worth of fine art by Andy Warhol and David Hockney – meet Hong Kong’s richest tycoons

Li Ka-shing, Hong Kong’s richest man, has shown how a diverse portfolio of investments has helped his flagship companies thrive, even as his city was saddled by the most severe economic slump in decades during the Covid-19 pandemic.

videocam

Billionaire Li Ka-shing ’s conglomerate CK Hutchison counts businesses spanning ports, retail, infrastructure and telecommunications, with holdings in about 51 ports in 25 countries, its website shows.