CyberWorks' chief not a Stanford grad
By Vivian Chu, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 5:18 AM ET Mar 22, 2001
HONG KONG (CBS.MW) - Richard Li, the young, wealthy chairman of Internet and telecom company Pacific Century CyberWorks, admitted Thursday he didn't graduate from Stanford University despite references to this prestigious pedigree in numerous public documents.
"Mr. Li attended Stanford for more than three years from 1984 to 1987, but left before completing his degree, for personal reasons," CyberWorks said in a press release Thursday.
"In some isolated instances, Company public relations materials have been produced that inaccurately reported Mr. Li had graduated form the university. The Company emphasizes that this inaccuracy did not appear in public disclosures filed by the Company in accordance with applicable legal requirements," it added.
CyberWorks (PCW: news, msgs, alerts) issued the statement in response to a report in the International Herald Tribune that quoted a staffer at Stanford's registrar's office as saying that Li never received a degree from the university.
The statement is a major public relations embarrassment for CyberWorks, which until now has touted Li's Stanford's credentials as a holder of a degree in computer engineering from the school. But in its 1999 annual report, CyberWorks said that Li was only educated at Stanford and didn't mention whether he graduated.
Li is head of CyberWorks, Hong Kong's dominant telecom firm and one of Asia's biggest communications companies. Last year, he engineered Asia's biggest corporate takeover, the $28.5 billion acquisition of Cable & Wireless HKT from its UK parent Cable & Wireless (CWP: news, msgs, alerts) .
His father is billionaire Li Ka-shing, controller of two of the city's biggest companies, property firm Cheung Kong Holdings (CHEUY: news, msgs, alerts) and conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa (HUWHY: news, msgs, alerts) .
Li's admission raises questions about CyberWorks' level of disclosure to the public, said analysts.
"Company statements in press releases and in regulatory documents should be made to the same standards of honesty and clarity. It's not a defense to suggest that one can tell lies in press releases and not in regulatory documents," said David Webb, editor of Webb-site.com and commentator on corporate governance in Hong Kong.
Many overseas investors unfamiliar with the Li family name could have bought CyberWorks shares based partly on the younger Li's purported educational background, said Webb.
"It's not a music or history degree, but a computer science degree that has a direct bearing on CyberWorks' business. I wouldn't be surprised if some U.S. investors were to pursue legal action for their losses in the stock, since they could claim they relied on public statements from the company when making their investment decisions," he added.
Shares of CyberWorks hit a new year-low on Thursday afternoon, tumbling 3.33 percent to 3.63 Hong Kong dollars. They are down 84 percent from their year high. Last year, they were the worst performer on the benchmark Hang Seng Index.
Vivian Chu is a reporter for CBS.MarketWatch.com in Hong Kong.
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