"When a coin fell out of my pocket full of money, I would climb out of the car and pick it up because it was my last dollar. This widely circulated Li Ka-shing quote once demonstrated his persistent pursuit of business elites. But now, whether the richest man in Hong Kong and the richest man in Asia can still adhere to his "last dollar" principle has caused the outside world to speculate.
Li Ka-shing's Husky Energy announced a loss of about 140 billion yuan, which undoubtedly cast a shadow over the business empire of Hong Kong's richest man. Over the years, Li Ka-shing has been known as a "superman" by the outside world for his keen business sense and decisive decision-making. But the loss shook his position in the business world, and there was speculation about whether it heralded the fall of the Lee kingdom.
As a pioneer in Hong Kong's real estate industry, Li Ka-shing has been involved in almost every major real estate project in Hong Kong. He began to lay out real estate as early as the 70s of the 20th century, and completed the localization of assets before Hong Kong's return to China in 1997, avoiding risks. Today, the Li Ka-shing family still sits on the most expensive office buildings and the largest rental property empire in Hong Kong.
And in the 90s of the last century, Li Ka-shing extended his tentacles to the United Kingdom. At that time, when the British economy was in recession, Li Ka-shing seized the opportunity and seized assets such as water and electricity, mobile phone communications, airports, and public facilities in the UK in only eight years, and was known as the leader of the "Sell Britain Campaign".
In the 21st century, Li Ka-shing has set his sights on Chinese mainland. From power and infrastructure to retail, media and other fields, Li Ka-shing has seized the opportunity to make layouts. In the decade from 2002 to 2011, Li Ka-shing's Cheung Kong Group made a total of 43 investments in mainland enterprises.
One of the most eye-catching is that Li Ka-shing spent nearly 2 billion yuan to buy shares in Beijing Capital Airport, becoming the second largest shareholder of the airport. This investment has paid off nearly 10 times after 4 years. Because of these precise investment layouts, Li Ka-shing has repeatedly topped the Forbes Hong Kong rich list, and his personal wealth has reached a maximum of 32 billion US dollars, once becoming the richest man in Asia.
The reputation of "Li Superman" also comes from his amazing business prediction. But surprisingly, cracks have begun to appear in Li Ka-shing's business empire in recent years. In 2020, the pandemic led to a global recession, and Li Ka-shing's real business was hit hard. The most serious of these is in the oil sector.
Husky Energy, founded by Li Ka-shing in 1969, was once an important pillar of his business empire. But under the dual impact of the epidemic and changes in the energy structure, the old Petro-Canada company is in trouble. In 2020, Husky Energy lost C$2.3 billion and its share price plummeted by 70%.
The company was forced to be acquired by a Canadian competitor for C$5.25 per share for a total value of just C$5.6 billion, losing its past glory.
In addition to the oil industry, Li Ka-shing's investment in the entertainment industry in the UK has also suffered a waterloo. The depreciation of the pound has dealt a heavy blow to its bar business, which lost nearly 1 billion yuan in the first half of this year alone. The news that the UK's assets have shrunk by 80 billion yuan has also attracted the attention of the outside world.
In addition to the setbacks of the old business, Li Ka-shing's emerging layout in recent years has also been in retreat. In 2020, Li Ka-shing bet on the field of new energy vehicles and established a formula car company, trying to follow the example of new forces such as NIO and Li Auto to step into the manufacturing industry. But the equation is still in the conceptual stage, and it is far from the future. This is in stark contrast to Li Ka-shing's sharp judgment in the past.
There are signs that Li Ka-shing's business empire has been in turmoil. Although his wealth is still as high as $21.7 billion in 2022, he tops the Forbes list of Hong Kong's richest people. But compared with the image of "Superman" in the past, it has declined. It remains to be seen whether Li Ka-shing will be able to turn the tide and regain the commercial highland.
Whatever the future holds, Li Ka-shing has written the history of contemporary business with his countless legends. We don't need to be too harsh on this entrepreneur in his twilight years. Every era has its own opportunities, and every legend has its limitations. Li Ka-shing's ability to get to where he is today is far beyond the imagination of ordinary people.
Perhaps Li Ka-shing himself has already seen success and failure. He once said: "I am a realistic person and a pragmatic person. I never regret it, and I don't complain. Life is like this, there are gains and losses. Putting aside all speculation from the outside world, the future of Li Ka-shing and his business empire is still in his own hands after all.
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