Mr. Hong Kong

Octogenarian Hong Kongtycoon Li Ka-shing drew intense media spotlight last year. In July 2013， Li’s companies began selling properties in Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland. Grocery chain ParknShop was one of the first scheduled to go. One of Hong Kong’s two largest supermarket chains， ParknShop controls about 33 percent of the city’s market share and its total annual revenue exceeds HK$20 billion. Although the deal later fell through， it still caused a huge buzz with Hong Kong residents.

In September， Li sold 70 percent of his stock holdings in HK Electric to raise US$5 billion.

Li also attracted media attention in recent years by investing massive sums in Europe， in fields such as energy and telecommunications. According to Southern Weekly， since 2010， Li’s Cheung Kong Holdings and Hutchison Whampoa Limited completed 11 acquisitions outside of Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland together valued at nearly HK$190 billion. Nearly 97 percent of these acquisitions occurred in Europe.

Some analysts began to speculate whether Li， who has been one of Hong Kong’s representative faces for decades and frequently stressed that he would never move his companies elsewhere， is not optimistic about Hong Kong’s future. In De- cember 2013， Li addressed these concerns to the media. He denied intending to withdraw capital from Hong Kong specifically and insisted that every decision he made was based purely on commercial judgment. He reaffirmed that he would “never leave Hong Kong.”

Hong Kong Dream

For a long time， Li was considered an icon of the Hong Kong dream， influencing the city in many aspects. Born in Chaozhou City， Guangdong Province， in 1928， Li moved to Hong Kong at the age of 12. In the 1950s， he founded a plastic manufacturing company through which he first found success selling artificial flowers. In 1972，Li shifted the focus of his business dealings to real estate when the world suffered an economic downturn. Since then， his career trajectory has only been steep and upwards. In 1979， he acquired his current flagship company， Hutchison Whampoa Limited， and created a large conglomerate after acquiring a shipping company and expanding his port business. Soon， the tycoon was single-handedly transforming Hong Kong’s economic structure.

The period Li first began acquiring wealth was crucial for global economic restructuring after World War II. At the time， Asia had few free markets other than Japan and Hong Kong. The lack of economic openness in neighboring areas gifted Hong Kong great advantages. Against this background， Li built something from nothing and became an inspiration to generations. From the 1950s to the 1990s， the city’s economy developed at amazing speed and its residents glowed with pride. Li’s rise proved not only his talent， but the abilities of Chinese people in a society that was dominated by Britain in terms of economics and politics. His image soared to the realms of superhero in the eyes of many Hong Kong residents.

Tall Trees Catch Much Wind

Li’s fallout with the public started in 2003， when the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement （CEPA） was signed between the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong to help Hong Kong recover from the economic downturn following the SARS epidemic. Whether their feelings about the aftermath are positive or negative， almost every analyst agrees that year marked a turning point for the city.

According to CEPA and its annual supplements since 2003， the mainland gradually opened wider to Hong Kong. It seemed that the city has gained greater market access in many sectors under preferential conditions： movies jointly produced by studios from both sides are now treated as domestic movies on the mainland. The arrangement also brings the town nearly 30 million independent mainland tourists every year， a volume quadruple its population of permanent residents.

While Hong Kong’s economy gradually recovered， many claimed that the mainland began to dominate various sectors of the city. It may not have been Li who changed， but the social atmosphere and public opinion.

According to statistics， Hong Kong’s Gini coefficient in 2013 reached 0.537， the highest figure in four decades. The widening gap between rich and poor is irritating the public. Many believe the inequality should be blamed on a tighter relationship between government and big business. Ill will towards the super rich has been increasing among the masses. Hong Kong’s public opinion about Mr. Li changed drastically – his name has become synonymous with monopoly and oligopoly after once inspiring images of a hero who dared challenge British colonists’ economic dominance. Li and his companies can be assigned at least some of the blame： his empire’s massive size is already a problem. However， on some occasions， public rage was misdirected at Li whenever the economy went sour.

Against this backdrop， it’s easy to understand why Li’s dock workers went on strike in early 2013， demanding better pay. Li was painted as vampire by protestors. Even though the employees had been outsourced rather than hired by Li’s company directly， they still put it all on his head. Some more fervent protesters even picketed his private residence.

The strike illustrates the bleak sentiments the Hong Kong people face today.

Unrivaled Superman

Li begins his morning routine with a round of golf. The 85-year-old still works five days a week， with more than 200 senior managers potentially reporting directly to him. If a business dinner isn’t scheduled， he spends eight hours in his office. He pays little attention to food and drink， and reads books and watches English programs before bed – a humble， boring lifestyle in the eyes of many. He is quite modest and keeps a low profile. Until recently， visitors to his office may have had the front door opened for them by the man himself. When giving interviews， he hands every journalist his business card and humbly（and unnecessarily） introduces himself： “Li Ka-shing.” When asked sensitive questions， he speaks his mind even if his publicists attempt to keep him quiet.

It surprises many that his personal and corporate assets have only increased since he started business. While many tycoons of his era experienced huge setbacks at some point during their lives， Li carefully avoided every pitfall. He is very international and diversified， integrating resources from all over the world and investing in a wide array of sectors and fields. Today， he does business in 52 countries and employs about 260，000.

At times， Li may have been an unfair target for Hong Kong’s frustration； he’s still representative of the city’s evolution over the last half century. From a young refugee to an international tycoon and the richest Chinese person alive， Li not only epitomizes Hong Kong’s post-war economic miracle， but also stands for much of what the Hong Kong people have achieved over the years.