A Hong Kong property billionaire with a big family dilemma

FROM CK Asset’s Li Ka-shing to Henderson Land Development’s Lee Shau-Kee, Hong Kong’s fabulously wealthy tycoons have for decades dominated the city’s property and retail sectors. Now, these families face a big existential crisis.

Their founders are either really old or have passed away. The younger heirs need to prove that the original rags-to-riches business acumen is still in their DNA, at a time when the economy and the financing world are rapidly changing.

Out of the four biggest dynasties, the most vulnerable seems to be the Chengs, whose empire spans property flagship New World Development and retail jeweller Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group. After a brutal sell-off this summer, bonds issued by New World are yielding double digits – hardly befitting the image of a family that is, by one estimate, worth almost US$30 billion.