Li Ka-shing’s business empire diversifies to prune risk
Long-term planning is crucial when it comes to a company's succession strategies, especially in terms of sustaining a dynasty over many decades
Asia's richest man, Li Ka-shing, is in the middle of executing a long-term plan for his empire, diversifying his investments and business risk by taking on a more global profile.
For the past two years, Li has invested more in Europe and North America while exiting a number of high-profile projects in Hong Kong and other Asian countries.
Although there might be sound macroeconomic policies to support this, I believe it is also a strategic move as he plans for the eventual succession of the empire from himself to his two sons, Victor and Richard.
Without doubt, Li is one of the most successful businessmen in Asia and his impressive story, from selling plastic flowers in the 1950s to being the richest man in Asia, is well known.
However, even the most successful businessmen do not live forever and the task of transferring the family business from one generation to the next is a daunting challenge.
In our new book , Professor Joseph Fan, of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and myself propose a new framework to help families in Asia choose the best path possible for prosperity and happiness of their family and business.
