Long Read: Tycoon Li Ka-Shing Explains Why Looking Ahead Is Key to Success

In interviews with Caixin, the Hong Kong billionaire recounted how good guesses about the future have helped him prosper, including when he gave up a profitable business to get into real estate

Representing a generation of business leaders, entrepreneurs like Li Ka-shing have played a crucial role in China’s reform and opening up over the past 40 years. Photo: AI generated

To celebrate Caixin’s 15th anniversary, we are republishing a series of interviews with some of the most influential economists, business leaders and government officials in China. A look back at what they said offers insights into some of the most pressing issues of today, such as economic transformation, overseas expansion amid global uncertainties, and the China-U.S. rivalry.

Caixin has had two exclusive interviews with Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing. The first was at the end of 2013 when Li was under intense public scrutiny regarding his withdrawal of investments from the Chinese mainland.

In the following four years, Li’s family and his companies shifted their investment focus overseas, with a series of cross-border mergers and acquisitions, building an asset empire that provided him with a stable return.

The second interview took place in March 2018, when Li announced his retirement at the age of 90. The group he founded, CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd., was handed over to his eldest son, Victor.

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