Richard Li, the son of Asia's richest man, Li Ka-shing, is known for straying from the family business and venturing into sectors on his own. The WSJ's Deborah Kan speaks to Dow Jones' Jeffery Ng about what Mr. Li could be up to next.
HONG KONG—Asia's richest man laid out his succession plans Friday, putting his older son at the helm of his business empire and promising his younger son funding to embark on new investments.
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NEXT IN LINE: Victor Li, left, spoke with his father, Li Ka-shing, at a news conference in Hong Kong on Friday. Bloomberg News
Li Ka-shing, the 83-year-old owner of Hong Kong's biggest supermarket chain and with assets globally in telecommunications, oil and real estate, remains actively involved in the operations of his flagship blue-chip companies. On Friday he said he had no plans to retire anytime soon, but sought to put to rest frequent media speculation in the city on the future of his multi-billion dollar companies. His net worth was estimated at US$25.5 billion, according to Forbes Magazine, making him the world's ninth-richest person.
The tycoon, well-respected locally for his business acumen and whose views on the Hong Kong economy are closely followed by retail stock investors, said he is making the succession arrangements so the brothers "wouldn't have conflict" over his business interests.
"Victor will manage the Cheung Kong Group assets," Mr. Li told reporters at a news briefing following a shareholders' meeting of Cheung Kong (Holdings) Ltd. 0001.HK -1.87%and Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. 0013.HK -2.56% , his two key listed vehicles.
Mr. Li said his younger son is "in talks with several businesses that he likes, and I will help support him fully." When asked how he plans to support Richard, the patriarch said: "That's simple. Give him cash."
Friday's comments by Mr. Li come just two months after fellow tycoon Cheng Yu-tung, head of jewelry chain Chow Tai Fook Group, 1929.HK -2.07% handed the reins of his business fortunes to his eldest son, becoming the first of the city's aging real-estate tycoons to officially retire. But the actions of Messrs. Cheng and Li's are a rarity in a region where heads of family-run businesses are generally reluctant to hand down power, even in their twilight years.
Gambling magnate Stanley Ho of SJM Holdings Ltd. 0880.HK -1.94% , who is in his 90s, and Chen Din Hwa of Nan Fung Development Ltd., have retained their titles even as they have grown too ill to manage their business empires. Family feuds over power and money at these two companies have filled the pages of the city's newspapers in recent years. These tycoons all began building their fortunes after World War II in Hong Kong's real-estate market, ultimately rising to create sprawling empires and families to match.
The elder Mr. Li's succession plan come as little surprise to investors, who have long expected that Victor Li would eventually run his listed companies. For more than a decade, Victor, 47, has been managing director at Cheung Kong and deputy chairman at Hutchison, reporting to his father, who is chairman.
Victor Li, who was sitting next to Li Ka-shing when he discussed the succession plans, said Friday he is "always happy" with his father's arrangements.
Richard Li, 45, doesn't hold a title in his father's companies, and stepped down as deputy chairman of Hutchison in 2000 to develop his telecom interests after buying what was then Hong Kong Telecom, the city's top fixed-line operator, which was later renamed PCCWLtd. 0008.HK -0.87%
The senior Mr. Li said he will help fund Richard Li's new business plans, adding that the younger son's assets will rise "several-fold" from his support. Li Ka-shing didn't elaborate on what types of assets Richard Li is seeking to buy. Richard Li couldn't immediately be reached for comment.
This won't be the first time the elder Mr. Li has offered to help his younger son in his business ventures.
In 2006, Richard Li attempted to sell PCCW to U.S. buyout firm TPG-Newbridge, but the deal fell apart when minority shareholder and one of China's top telecom firms at the time, state-backed China Network Communications Group Corp., blocked the sale on the grounds that the city's telecom operation should remain "owned and managed by Hong Kong people."
Li Ka-shing then offered to finance the acquisition of PCCW from his son by one of his close associates, former Citigroup Inc. C +1.61% banker Francis Leung, but Richard Li opposed the deal, which ultimately collapsed.
Still, the younger Mr. Li has been a prolific deal maker, selling Star TV—an Asian satellite television company he founded in 1990—to News Corp., NWSA +0.03% which owns Dow Jones, publisher of The Wall Street Journal, when he was just 26. Last year he carved out some key telecom assets of PCCW Ltd. in a Hong Kong listing that raised US$1.2 billion.
Richard Li has also developed real estate in Hong Kong and in 2010 bought asset manager PineBridge—then named AIG Investment—from American International GroupInc. AIG +0.51% when U.S. insurance giant AIG was hit by the global financial crisis and had to sell assets to repay the U.S. government's bailout.