Billionaire Li says 'Brexit' would prompt his UK retrenchment

[HONG KONG] Billionaire Li Ka-shing, one of the biggest foreign investors in the UK, said he'd scale back investments from the country in the unlikely event that Britain exits from the European Union.

"If 'Brexit' really happens, we will surely decrease our investments," CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd's chairman, who's also Hong Kong's richest man, said during an annual press briefing after earnings. "The possibility of Brexit is small if British people care about their own interests."

Li, who has in business ranging from infrastructure to telecommunications in the UK, is among the most prominent global businessmen to voice concerns over a potential Brexit. Voters will decide on the UK's future in the EU at a June 23 referendum.

Li spoke after his flagship company, CK Hutchison, on Thursday delivered annual profits that edged above analysts' estimates.

BLOOMBERG