Liyan Chen
Forbes Staff
Asia’s richest man Li Ka-shing is off to a fantastic start in 2015.
The billionaire’s fortune rose $2.3 billion to $34.1 billion on Monday, as investors welcomed the massive restructuring plan of his sprawling empire . The jump sent the Hong Kong resident to No. 14 among the world’s richest people, up 6 spots from last March when we published our annual billionaire rankings.
Li’s flagship Hong Kong-listed companies Cheung Kong Holdings andHutchison Whampoa shot up 15% and 13% respectively on Monday, after last Friday’s announcement of a complex reorganization plan that would separate Li’s real estate assets from the rest of his global business empire. The two new companies to be created under the proposal include CKH Holding, which combines all his non-property businesses from ports to telecommunication, and CK Property, which will take over all the property businesses.
The restructuring plan would address the discount applied to the Cheung Kong’s shares due to the current tiered shareholding structure. The company’s shares were trading at 23% discount to, or HK$87 billion less than, its book value as of June 30, 2014, according to a statement. “This transaction is a watershed event in our Group’s history. It is transformational from the point of view of shareholder value,” Li said.
The proposal may also come as a result of several other factors. Separating real estate assets from Li’s global conglomerate would allow investors to pick and choose amid China’s slowing property market. In 2014, Li’s family sold off some real estate assets in China, a signal that some observers saw as his bearish interpretation of the country’s shaky property market. The new shareholder structure could also ease the way for the succession plan (earmarked for oldest son Richard) of the 86 years-old billionaire, who has topped FORBES’ annual Hong Kong Rich List for 17 consecutive years.
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