Scenes of intense infighting within tycoon clans are a staple of Hong Kong TV drama series, but in real life, most of the city’s richest families manage to keep any discord under wraps.

This had been especially true, until recently, of the Kwok family which runs Sun Hung Kai Properties, the city’s biggest property developer with a market capitalisation of $42bn. In the 18 years since taking over the company, following the death of their father and company founder, brothers Walter, Thomas and Raymond Kwok have cemented their reputation as safe and conservative operators.