Hong Kong’s richest man has changed hands, with mainland Chinese “new immigrant” Tsang Yuk-kwan replacing Li Ka-shing as the new richest man in Hong Kong on May 4, as his fortune soared with his company’s stock price. In the context of Beijing’s push for “patriots ruling Hong Kong,” the change of ownership of Hong Kong’s richest man has raised additional concerns.
On May 4, Forbes.com’s THE REAL-TIME BILLIONAIRES LIST showed that “new Hongkonger” Tsang Yuk-kwan’s value soared to US$34.5 billion, surpassing that of Li Ka-shing, once the new richest man in Hong Kong. Li Ka-shing, once became the new richest man in Hong Kong.
However, 2 days later, on May 6, Tsang’s wealth fell to US$34.1 billion, and Li Ka-shing returned to the throne of the richest man in Hong Kong.
Mr. Tsang is the chairman of the board of directors of Ningde Times New Energy Technology Co. He was granted Hong Kong resident status under the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme in 2005 and is therefore classified by Forbes as a Hong Kong entrepreneur.
According to Forbes, on April 6, a month ago, Mr. Tsang’s total wealth was US$28.4 billion, much lower than the current US$34.1 billion, and in just one month, his wealth has increased by more than US$6 billion.
This time, Zeng Yuqun’s wealth has risen sharply, mainly from the soaring stock price of Ningde Times. According to SkyEye, Zeng Yuqun holds 24.53% of Ningde Times, and the soaring share price of Ningde Times has also made Zeng Yuqun’s fortune soar.
The new richest man follows the political winds of Beijing
Although Zeng Yuqun’s business credentials are far less than Li Ka-shing’s, he has followed Xi Jinping’s policy direction since the beginning of Ningde Times.
In September 2010, Xi Jinping, then vice president of the Communist Party of China, returned to Ningde for research and asked Ningde to “launch a few more big projects to speed up leapfrog development”.
After that, Zeng Yuqun founded Ningde Times in 2011 and located the company in his hometown of Ningde, Fujian.
Ningde Times was listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange’s Growth Enterprise Market on June 11, 2018, when its stock debuted at just RMB 25.14 (about $3.91) with an initial market value of RMB 54.6 billion (about $8.48 billion).
Prior to the IPO, its shares were already sought after by mainland brokerages. At the time, Cai Tong Securities said Ningde Times was expected to become a power battery leader in China and globally.
At the end of 2020, the CPC State Council launched the New Energy Vehicle Industry Development Plan (2021-2035) to promote the development of the new energy vehicle industry, again driving up Ningde Times’ stock price. Based on the opening price of RMB 111.3 (approximately $17.22) on January 6, 2020 versus the closing price of RMB 388.17 (approximately $60.05) on April 30, 2021, Ningde Times’ stock price has increased by 349% in the past one year and four months. As of April 30, Ningde Times’ latest market capitalization was RMB904.2 billion (about $139.87 billion).
Currently, Ningde Times’ major partners include Tesla, electric vehicle brands such as Geely Automobile and Azera, as well as traditional car brands such as FAW-Volkswagen and BMW Brilliance.
The news of Zeng Yuqun becoming the richest man in Hong Kong gained the attention of media and public opinion in both China and Hong Kong, but two days later, Ningde Times’ share price fell and news of Li Ka-shing’s return to the top spot in Hong Kong received little coverage.
Local Hong Kong tycoon targeted by Beijing
Unlike the soaring Zeng Yuqun and his Ningde Times, Hong Kong’s richest man Li Ka-shing’s fortune has grown steadily, up about $600 million from $33.7 billion a month ago. But Li and other Hong Kong tycoons have been at the forefront of public opinion since the Chinese Communist Party implemented a “Hong Kong version of the national security law” in Hong Kong and recently introduced “patriots rule Hong Kong.
On March 7, at the National Conference of the Communist Party of China, Vice Premier Han Zheng proposed to solve the housing problem. On March 16, Bloomberg reported that the four richest families in Hong Kong, the Kwok Tak-sing family, the Lee family, and the Li family, had made their fortunes in real estate. –The Kwok Tak-sing family, the Lee Shau-kee family, the Li Ka-shing family, and the Cheng Yu-tung family have been on Beijing’s radar.
In mid-April, Hong Kong began to implement the so-called electoral reform package passed by the Chinese Communist Party’s National People’s Congress, and among the newly added “patriotic and Hong Kong-loving groups”, the “Chiu Chow Association”, of which Li Ka-shing is the honorary chairman, was excluded.
In addition, on April 27, Li Ka-shing’s Cheung Kong Holdings Limited (CKH) made a rare announcement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange of the valuation of the group’s property assets, worth about HK$500 billion (US$64.4 billion), much higher than CKH’s current market value of HK$181.1 billion (US$23.3 billion).
The 885-page “Property Valuation Report” reveals the Cheung Kong Group’s properties in various locations around the world. The 198 properties in China and Hong Kong valued by DTZ exceed HK$420 billion (US$54 billion). Of these, 71 properties in mainland China are valued at HK$133.5 billion (US$17.2 billion), while 127 properties in Hong Kong are valued at HK$290.3 billion (US$37.4 billion).
On April 28, “Apple Daily” columnist “Stock Wing” wrote in his commentary that the acquisition of British public project assets by CIIC from Li Ka-shing Foundation did not require the disclosure of information on the hundreds of billions of property projects. This time, the company has taken the initiative to reveal all the assets of its real estate projects, perhaps with only one goal in mind: to show the Chinese Communist authorities.
“Stock Wing” analysis pointed out that over the years, whenever Li Ka-shing’s companies sell assets in Hong Kong and China, the outside world will be linked to the departure of capital cash, mainland China’s pinkies will also shout “don’t let Superman run away”. This time, in addition to releasing the undervalued assets to the outside world, it is also a statement of loyalty, “Under the premise that everything is politically correct here, people are convinced that the group still owns 200 properties and hundreds of billions of dollars of assets in Hong Kong, and will continue to insist on investing and developing in Hong Kong.”
In an April episode of the Epoch Times financial commentary program “Business World”, it was pointed out that many of Hong Kong’s former local tycoons accumulated their wealth through real estate, and that investors and a new generation of Chinese tycoons are focusing on the Hong Kong market against the backdrop of tensions between China and the United States. In the future, with the renewal of industries, Hong Kong may usher in a reshuffle of tycoons, and a new generation of tycoons is replacing the traditional tycoons.
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