Some thoughts on Li Ka-shing's recent investment moves
Updated: 2013-09-11 06:52
By Leung Lap-yan(HK Edition)
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Li Ka-shing recently put the ParknShop supermarket chain in Hong Kong and the Metropolitan Plaza in the Liwan district of Guangzhou up for sale after selling the Oriental Financial Center office tower in Shanghai's Lujiazui area. The three properties should fetch Li HK$41 billion in total. At the same time, Hong Kong's richest man is on a shopping spree in Europe for real estate and businesses, spending HK$24.87 billion on four deals in the first half of this year alone. Little wonder some British media claimed that Li appears intent on "buying the UK".
HK$41 billion is no big deal for Lee as it hardly leaves a dent on his business empire and he probably need not worry too much about getting loans if he wants to buy Europe. Apparently he has a much more important goal in mind than making some quick cash from selling those properties and businesses.
Hong Kong has always been Li's home base for business expansion to the mainland and then the whole world, which explains why people should not be surprised by any of his decisions on capital deployment. However, that is not to say the worsening investment environment in Hong Kong these days has absolutely nothing to do with his decision to sell ParknShop. With certain parties going all out to fan hatred toward the rich and targeting Li in particular, it is not very hard to sense some disappointment at Hong Kong's political reality in his recent business maneuvering.
The fact is, Li has been regarded as the moral leader of Chinese entrepreneurs in Hong Kong since his flagship company Cheung Kong (Holdings) bought the aging British developer Hutchison Whampoa in 1979. Today Li is the richest man in Asia and one of the richest in the world; money no longer means much to him. Being an extremely tradition-minded Chinese his whole life, Li holds the country and nation closer to heart than many people can imagine and he would not hesitate to offer his own wealth when he believes it will benefit the country or Hong Kong. If he really has to divest in his present hometown, the only possible reason is that he is convinced his business empire will die if he doesn't move it to a better place.
It is an undeniable fact that some people have gone out of their way to fan hatred toward the rich and business community since the handover, upsetting social stability to the point of inciting conflicts among ethnic groups and "cultural revolution"-style class struggle. Such politically motivated scheming will destroy everything Hongkongers have achieved in terms of economic development, especially Chinese entrepreneurship and the tradition of labor-employer cooperation. If this foundation is gone Hong Kong's prosperity as we know it will be lost as well!
So far it appears the SAR government is under too many constraints to right the wrongs on its own. If the central government does not take effective measures to rid the SAR of its misery before it's too late, there is no doubt more businesses will flee Hong Kong, which will never be the same again even if mainland enterprises are allowed to come and fill the blanks left by panicking locals. Admit it or not, the truth is the business community is not alone in suffering political strife these days. Even the average person in the street is just as frustrated by it, if not more so. Are we supposed to believe Hongkongers are destined to be ruled by foreign powers and let their hometown waste away under the spell of Western democracy?
The author is a current affairs commentator.
(HK Edition 09/11/2013 page1)