Richest 40 added $82b to their aggregate net wealth in 2009

HONG KONG: The Chinese proverb - "Wealth comes from land" - proved to be true again after real estate magnates bagged the top five slots in the latest Forbes' Hong Kong rich list.

Li Ka-shing, the 81-year-old chairman of developer Cheung Kong Holdings, remained unchallenged, keeping his crown with an estimated fortune of US$21.3 billion.

Soaring property prices in the city buoyed share prices of the developer, contributing significantly to Mr Li's fortune. He also benefited from his vast investment in other sectors through his conglomerate, Hutchison Whampoa Ltd.

Over the past year, property prices in the city surged 29 percent, driven by high liquidity after a spree of global monetary easing in the wake of the financial tsunami.

The property boom also helped other real estate magnates to gain a place on the top of the list as share prices of their listed property flagships climbed sharply over the past year.

Lee Shau-kee, the 82-year-old founder and chairman of Henderson Land Development, snatched the second slot with a net worth of $19 billion.

Meanwhile, the Kwok family, the majority owner of Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd, the city's largest developer by market capitalization, was ranked number three with wealth of $17 billion.

Another two real estate magnates, New World Development's Cheng Yu-tung and Chinese Estates Holdings' controlling shareholder Joseph Lau, hit the fourth and fifth spots, with net asset values of $7 billion and $6 billion, respectively.

Hong Kong's top-40 Super Rich individuals also benefit tremendously from the rapid economic growth on the mainland, the Forbes magazine said.

More than a dozen of the city's 40 richest persons have "substantial" real estate investments across the border, while most others operate vast businesses there, it notes.

For example, at number 7, Peter Woo's Wheelock is building one of Shanghai's tallest towers. Gordon Wu's Hopewell Holdings operates many highways in the mainland.

Ronnie Chan's Hang Lung Group generates around 40 percent of its rental income from Shanghai, while Tang Yiu's Belle International boasts being the mainland's largest maker of women's shoes.

Affluent Chinese tourists also have helped bolster fortunes in Hong Kong, as they have spent generously in the city's stores and hotels, Forbes said.

The Fung brothers, who run global outsourcing firm Li & Fung, also benefit from cheap labor on the mainland, as they source most of their export products there.

The 40 super-rich added a total of $82 billion to their wealth over the past year, pushing their aggregate net worth to $135 billion, after financial markets rebounded strongly from the slump in the second half of 2008.

However, their collective wealth is still below the 2008 figures when their net worth reached a high of $179 billion before the global financial tsunami took its toll.

(HK Edition 02/05/2010 page3)