Ethics come first for Shih Wing-ching

Apart from two grand works of Chinese art, there's nothing in the modest office in Central's New World Tower to suggest its occupant has a business empire employing 30,000 people in Hong Kong and the mainland. Furthermore, Shih Wing-ching, the co-founder of Centaline Property Agency, glows with pride talking about the unassuming ways of his three children.

"My eldest daughter Janet, 26, and son Victor, 24, take the MTR to work every day. Like myself, all the children think food that has fallen on the floor is still edible if you wash it a little. When Janet started work, there was a new shampoo she wanted but couldn't afford. She only bought it after her probation ended, and she got a salary increase," Shing says.

Instead of living off her parents' money, Janet lives within her means, he says. She insists on paying her mother back if she buys her clothes.

"The monthly salary of her first jobs was just over HK$10,000. After dining out with colleagues at the beginning of the month, she had to scrimp and eat lunchboxes at the end of the month," he says.

His children's frugality and insistence on fending for themselves are hardly surprising. Shih, 63, spurns abalone in favour of beef brisket noodles and always doggy-bags leftovers. A self-made man, who contributed HK$5,000 to set up Centaline in 1978 with a friend, Shih told his children that people should rely on no one but themselves.

"Glory comes only from self-accomplishment. Reliance on family deprives one of the chance for hard work and self-discovery, leading to an unfulfilled life," he says.