HK mogul Li dismisses attacks on him in China media as ‘brouhaha’

One of Asia’s richest people has dismissed a personal attack from China’s ruling party mouthpiece as a “brouhaha” after it criticised his sale of some mainland assets as immoral and ungrateful amid a worsening downturn.

The unusually personal online attack from Peoples’ Daily on Li Ka-shing, the 87-year-old Hong Kong property, telecoms and port tycoon worth nearly $33bn, followed a spate of articles in mainland media online criticising him for apparently withdrawing from China via a series of asset sales, and domiciling his flagship vehicles offshore rather than in Hong Kong following a reorganisation earlier this year.

Mr Li, who fled the then war-torn mainland in poverty as a teenager and began his business empire producing plastic flowers, is considered an inspiration by many in China and Hong Kong, where he has been dubbed “superman” for his investing prowess.

On Tuesday he said in a three-page statement that his companies continued to seek investments around the world, including in the mainland.

“Over the past two years, the group has been more prudent towards property investments, as certain property markets in the mainland [have] supply and demand imbalance[s],” the statement said.

As China’s economic growth falls to its weakest pace in a quarter-century, Mr Li’s sales have been interpreted by some outlets as a sign of fading confidence in the mainland.

In the original article, the People’s Daily, mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist party, said: “Li Ka-shing’s choices do appear particularly brazen. In the eyes of ordinary people, we shared comfort and prosperity together in the good times, but when the hard times come he abandons us. This has really left some people speechless.”

Local media that he had sold about Rmb100bn ($16bn) of assets in mainland China and Hong Kong in just the past three years.

Inflaming his critics, Mr Li’s companies at the same time made deals in Europe, including this year’s purchase of Britain’s O2 mobile network from Telefónica and a merger between his Italian mobile unit and that of Russia’s VimpelCom.

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Mr Li defended his China sales, saying 90 per cent of the property his companies developed was typically sold and that he had never hoarded empty lots — a practice speculators use to try and push prices higher.

“Reducing property investments does not imply we are not investing in the Mainland,” the statement said.

More than two-thirds of companies, including Chinese-state-owned enterprises, are domiciled in overseas jurisdictions such as the Caymans or the British Virgin Islands, for Hong Kong listing purposes.

His statement said: “Mr Li, through the reorganisation process, has not reduced his holdings nor reaped any proceeds, therefore there is no truth in the ‘withdrawal’ accusations.”

Mr Li pointed to his retail unit, which includes the rapidly growing Watson’s pharmacy chain, and said the group had increased its number of mainland stores 77 per cent to 2,300, in the past two years.

Tuesday’s statement included expressions of support for the reform agenda of China’s president Xi Jinping, as reiterated this week during his state visit to the US.

“We are confident that the leadership in China is, and will commit to, improving governance and continue on a path of economic reform,” it said.