Billionaire Li Ka-shing and his family are preparing to usher in a new generation of leaders after some of their longest-serving lieutenants wrap up the sale of various assets to overhaul Hong Kong’s largest conglomerate.
Investors, bankers and business associates close to CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd. have been told that some senior executives are expected to retire after the firm completes the sale and spinoff of assets in telecommunications, ports and retail, people familiar with the matter said, asking not to be identified discussing private communications.
The changing of the guard will be a crucial test for Li Ka-shing’s eldest son Victor Li, who took control of the family business after his father retired in 2018. A new generation of executives chosen by Victor would be expected to oversee investing and deploying the capital from the asset sales, which could total at least $41 billion if completed, and help define CK Hutchison’s fate in the next era.
The 61-year-old Victor has been reshaping CK Hutchison, divesting from mature businesses to prepare the conglomerate for a world increasingly defined by geopolitical tensions and technological disruption. Most of CK Hutchison’s executives have been working for the group for more than three decades. The average age of its board of directors is about 69, one of the oldest for companies on Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng Index, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
...
