Friday, August 25, 2006
Hong Kong Billionaire Li to Give a Third of Fortune to Charity
By Joshua Fellman and Clare Cheung
Aug. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Hong Kong Billionaire Li Ka-shing, 78, said today he has no plans to retire and that he will eventually give at least a third of his wealth to his charity foundation.
Speaking at an earnings press conference for his two largest companies, which make up almost 9 percent of Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng Index, Li also said the 26-year-old Li Ka- shing Foundation has disbursed or committed almost HK$8 billion ($1 billion), about 90 percent of that in Hong Kong and China.
"This may spur more philanthropy in Asia,'' said Michael Troth, Asia Pacific and Middle East head of global wealth structuring at Citigroup Inc.'s private bank. ``An increasing number of our clients are interested in making a positive difference with their wealth and a lot of people look at what Li does when planning their affairs,'' he said. Citigroup does not disclose its private banking clients.
Li, who Fortune magazine says is the world's 10th richest person worth $18.8 billion, joins fellow billionaires including Bill Gates and Warren Buffett in pledging to give away a substantial portion of their wealth. Buffett in June pledged $30.7 billion, over many years, to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the largest charitable commitment in history, according to the Chronicle of Philanthropy.
Like Buffet, called the ``Sage of Omaha,'' Li, sometimes called ``Superman'' by the Chinese-language press, has built the reputation of being a canny investor. Li became a tycoon by buying Hong Kong real estate in 1967 when riots tied to China's Cultural Revolution caused land prices to collapse.
Plastic Flowers
After arriving in Hong Kong as a refugee from China at age 13, Li swept factory floors to survive during the Japanese occupation of the city in 1942-45. After the war, he opened a plastic flower factory and then began buying real estate.
Among his other successes was a $30 million investment in 1988 with Procter & Gamble Co. to sell shampoo and toothpaste in China. He sold his stake in the venture for $2 billion in 2004. In 1999, he made a $15 billion gain selling his Orange mobile- phone unit in the U.K. to Germany's Mannesmann AG.
Hutchison Whampoa Ltd., his largest company, this half booked a HK$24.4 billion gain from the sale of 20 percent of its port unit, the world's biggest, to Singapore's PSA International Pte, the second-largest operator.
Li said he wouldn't follow Buffet's lead by injecting shares from Hutchison and Cheung Kong (Holdings) Ltd., his real estate developer, into the foundation, as this would affect the business; instead he may donate ``non-core'' assets.
Hutchison, Cheung Kong
Today, shares in property developer Cheung Kong, 37 percent owned by Li, and its unit Hutchison, which has investments form cellular phones to oil, fell after the companies reported first- half earnings.
Hutchison, Li's biggest company, said first-half profit doubled to HK$18.8 billion on the port stake sale and said its European wireless networks would turn to profit later than it had previously expected.
Cheung Kong, his builder, said operating profit fell 31 percent to HK$3.3 billion on lower home sales.
Li said today he remains optimistic about China's economic development prospects and the outlook for Hong Kong's property market. He described China's recent attempts to curb economic growth as ``reasonable.''
The Li Ka-shing Foundation, established in 1980, has made grants, sponsorships and other commitments to educational, medical and health-care causes, according to its Web site.
Still of Sound Mind
Li also established a university in Shantou, China. Last year, he sold his 4.9 percent stake in the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, of which he had been the largest shareholder, donating the C$1.2 billion ($1.08 billion) in proceeds to a new Toronto-based charity supporting education, medical care, poverty relief and cultural and religious endeavors.
``No family members or directors can get even 10 cents from the foundation,'' Li said. ``It holds of cash and stocks, and I will continue to inject assets into it. If my mind becomes a bit impaired I will not retire, instead I will work for the foundation full time.'' Li said he's still of sound mind.
Li, has never announced any concrete retirement plans. His elder son, Victor, 41, is his heir apparent, acting as deputy chairman of Hutchison and managing director of Cheung Kong.
To contact the reporters on this story: Joshua Fellman in Hong Kong at jfellman@bloomberg.net Clare Cheung in Hong Kong at scheung4@bloomberg.net .
Last Updated: August 24, 2006 06:44 EDT
Wow it's hard to think how generous the rich can be at times. It seems like superman li really have the passion for his work, that why he is still working and give away his money….
hold me now at 3:04 PM
|
