Hong Kong billionaire Richard Li boosts stake in China's ZTE

[HONG KONG] Richard Li, the billionaire who controls Hong Kong telecommunications company PCCW Ltd, boosted his stake in Chinese network equipment maker ZTE Corp to 5 per cent, a stock exchange filing showed.

Li's holding rose on Nov 27 to the level that requires disclosure, after previously being at 4.94 per cent, the filing showed Friday.

Li is the younger son of Li Ka-shing, the chairman of Cheung Kong Holdings Ltd. His firm, PCCW, which has a market value of US$4.45 billion, is looking for growth beyond its home city of 7 million people. In an example of that push, PCCW said in September that it would offer a video-on-demand service in South Africa, competing with the likes of Netflix Inc.

Based in Shenzhen, ZTE is listed in Shenzhen and Hong Kong, with a market capitalization of US$11 billion.

BLOOMBERG