“I could retire today if I wanted to, even in the next five minutes.”
Over the years, Li’s business feats embodied the rise of the Chinese tycoon in Hong Kong. In the 1970s, he became the first Chinese to run a trading house in what was then still a British colony. In the 1980s and ’90s, he made a series of investments in the mainland just as it was opening up to the world. More recently, as China’s growth began to slow and the impact was felt in his adopted city, he further extended his portfolio of assets across Europe.
“We call him ‘Superman,’ so you can imagine the weight of his words, which can hardly be matched by anyone in Hong Kong,” said Alfred Lau, an analyst at Bocom International Holdings Co. in Hong Kong. “This is a very important part, especially when you’re striking deals.’’
Li brushed off recent criticism that he’s been pulling out of China. Calling Chinese state media reports of his wavering commitment, based on his selling properties in Shanghai to focus on investment overseas, “misguided,” Li said he is committed to the world’s second-biggest economy for the long term and has been since the late 1970s.
“From then on, my philanthropic activities in China have never stopped. First, I built hospitals,” said Li, also referencing his funding of Shantou University, which now educates more than 8,000 students. His investments in China span the energy, retail and infrastructure sectors. He also spent $2 billion developing Beijing’s Oriental Plaza, an 800,000 square meter (8.6 million square foot) office, hotel and apartment complex.
Li was also a senior adviser to Beijing on the 1997 Hong Kong handover, served on the committee that drafted its proposed constitution and was on the body that chose Hong Kong’s first post-colonial leader.
Beyond China, Li is among the biggest investors in Britain and warned during the June 16 interview that Brexit would hurt the U.K. and all of Europe. With the scenario materializing a week later, Li was unavailable to comment but his CK Hutchison flagship, which generated 37 percent of profits from the U.K. last year, said its businesses in the country would continue to thrive.
As he reflected on his life in an hour-long interview, Li ruminated on fleeing to Hong Kong at age 12 as China became embroiled in the Second Sino-Japanese war in the 1930s, and his journey to becoming one of the region’s richest billionaires from the first business he started in the 1950s, making plastic flowers.
Li said he has always been guided by the philosophy of having enough resources to be able to jump on new opportunities whenever they arise.
Cash flow “is the most important thing,” said Li. “I have always understood that the world changes a lot. Just because you’re doing well now, doesn’t mean you should be set in your ways.”