Asia’s richest man has been selling billions in commercial assets since 2013 to buy massively in the West.

Hong Kong (AsiaNews) – Li Ka-shing's reported plan to sell a major commercial complex in Shanghai's Pudong area for 20 billion yuan has again set Hong Kong media abuzz, with renewed rumours that he is jumping ship from China for better pickings in Europe.

According to Chinese media, the tycoon - founder of Cheung Kong (CK) Holdings, one of the leading multinational conglomerates – plans to sell Century Link, a 360,000 m2 commercial complex in Shanghai’s new financial hub of Pudong.

CK said it did not comment on market rumours. However, news of the proposed sale is fuelling speculation that Li plans to exit the Chinese market.

At present, the business magnate is the richest person in Hong Kong, mainland China and South-East Asia, the tenth richest in the world, sitting on a personal fortune estimated by Forbes to be around US$ 26.5 billion. One of the jewels in his crown is Hutchinson Whampoa, but he controls scores of smaller companies.

"It has been the firm's strategy. While it is disposing assets at high prices on the mainland, it's making aggressive acquisitions in the West," Alvin Cheung Chi-wai, an associate director of Prudential Brokerage, told the South China Morning Post.

"The group is flush with cash, having sold a number of assets in the past two years. It will enhance its purchasing power once the property market in the mainland and Hong Kong enter a correction phase," Cheung added.

Since 2013, Li Ka-shing has sold more than 20 billion yuan of commercial properties in Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou.

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• ka-shing
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