The Son Also Surprises With a stunning takeover of Hong Kong's telecom giant, Richard Li steps out from the shadow of his tycoon father, Li Ka-shing
By ANTHONY SPAETH
David Paul Morris for TIME
Press Gang - Richard Li has faced intense journalistic scrutiny since his telecom foray
There are a lot of Lis in Hong Kong, but only one Li Ka-shing. If you live in the territory, you might be able to avoid hearing or reading about him--if you're wearing earplugs and a blindfold--but you could hardly avoid enriching the 71-year-old tycoon. Li is a major player in the local real estate market, in retail, telecommunications and power generation, and his port operation handles 30% of Hong Kong's trade. His nickname in the press is Superman. It isn't a very witty moniker--and it isn't meant to be in a city that takes moneymaking very seriously.
Now, from the same family, comes Superboy: Li's 33-year-old son Richard. Last week, Richard succeeded in taking over Cable & Wireless HKT, the territory's telecom giant, using an Internet company he established only 10 months ago, Pacific Century CyberWorks. The deal, valued at $38 billion, was Asia's biggest takeover ever. At current market valuations, Richard's spanking new empire is starting to rival the one Dad took decades to amass. And while CyberWorks' capitalization could deflate tomorrow with a market slump, Richard's vision is undeniably immense. He wants to provide fast and flexible interactive television and Internet access, through so-called broadband connections, to the vast populations of China, India and the rest of Asia--and thus to become the largest such provider in the world.
cnn.com
|
