Tycoon Li Ka-shing urges Britons to vote against Brexit: Bloomberg

Tycoon Li Ka-shing urges Britons to 

vote against Brexit: Bloomberg

Local council leaders hold placards during a Vote Remain event at Manchester Metropolitan University's student Union in Manchester, northern England June 16, 2016.

REUTERS/PHIL NOBLE

Li Ka-shing, one of Asia's richest men, urged Britons to vote in favor of staying in the European Union, saying it would be detrimental to the U.K. and Europe if Brexit went through, Bloomberg reported.

"Of course, I hope that the U.K. doesn't leave the EU," the property tycoon told Bloomberg Television in an interview.

The U.K. accounts for 37 percent of profit at Li's main company, CK Hutchison Holding Ltd (0001.HK), Bloomberg said.

Li said in March that he expected to scale back investment in the U.K. if Britons voted to exit the EU.

But in Tuesday's broadcast, he said that his businesses in the U.K. and Europe would continue regardless of the result, Bloomberg reported.

CK Hutchison officials were not immediately available for comment.

Two opinion polls on Monday suggested support for Britain staying in the European Union had recovered some ground following the murder of a pro-EU lawmaker, but a third poll found support for a "Brexit" ahead by a whisker.