14 hours Ago By Lam Ka-sing
The appearance of the younger son of Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing at a high-profile summit in Beijing on the weekend caused a stir in business circles given how the central government had signalled its displeasure over the sale of Panama Canal ports controlled by his family’s conglomerate, observers have said. Richard Li Tzar-kai was among 93 people who appeared in a group photo with Chinese Premier Li Qiang at the China Development Forum on Sunday in Beijing. His father and his elder brother, Victor Li Tzar-kuoi, were absent.
Standing in the last row, the younger brother was sporting his usual round, black-framed glasses. He attended in his capacity as founder of Pacific Century Group, a Hong Kong-based private investment conglomerate with interests in technology, media, financial services, infrastructure and property. Lau Siu-kai, a consultant to the semi-official Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies think tank, said on Tuesday that Beijing recognised that the brothers had been involved in separate business ventures for a long time.
“Richard Li is not involved in the sale of piers by Hutchison and he is a tycoon in his own right,” Lau said. “Besides, Beijing has not issued any official statement against Hutchison or Li Ka-shing.”.
