Richard Li

For the first three years of his career, Li managed funds at an investment bank in Toronto, Canada,[3] acquiring Canadian citizenship in the 1980s.[4] In 1990 he began working in the fund-management department at Hutchison Whampoa in Hong Kong.[3] At Hutchison Whampoa, he was an executive director from 1992 until 1993 and deputy chairman from 1993 until 2000.[9]

In 1990, Li began building his own company, STAR TV, a pan-Asian satellite-television network that streamed American television. According to Wired magazine, the service "triggered a vast cultural shift, injecting a massive dose of Western popular entertainment into... more than 50 countries [by 2005]." STAR TV proved lucrative, and in 1993 and 1995 Li sold the network to Rupert Murdoch for a total of USD$950.5 million.[3]

Using the funds raised from the sale of STAR TV, in 1993 Li founded Pacific Century Group (PCG), an Asia-based investment group[3] with Li serving as CEO and chairman.[9] Li subsequently oversaw PCG's investments in real estate,[3] financial services, technology, and media & telecommunications.[13]

He was an executive director at Hongkong Electric Holdings from 1993 until 2000,[9] and chairman of Singapore-based Pacific Century Regional Developments Limited starting in 1994,[14][9] a role he still held in 2020.[9]

In 1996, Li established Pacific Century CyberWorks (PCCW).[15][4][9] Serving as the company's chairman starting in 1999,[14][9] he remained chairman when the company changed its name to PCCW Ltd. in 2002.[9]

In his early financial dealings with PCCW, his Canadian citizenship allowed him to bid on companies such as Air Canada and Bell Canada Enterprises without running afoul of restrictions on foreign ownership.[4] PCCW acquired Cable & Wireless HKT for US$38 billion in 2000, in "what was then Asia's largest corporate takeover." The acquisition made PCCW the largest fixed-lined network and wireless operator in Hong Kong.[16] Li joined the board of the Bank of East Asia in 2001, retaining the role until 2017.[14]

In 2004, he created the property company PCPD, or Pacific Century Premium Developments, as a spinoff from PCCW,[17] and was chairman of PCPD from 2004 until 2019.[9]

As chairman of both PCCW[18] and PCCW's executive committee,[14] in 2011 Li was involved in the spinoff and initial public offering of PCCW's telecommunications assets on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. With the spinoff named HKT Trust,[5] the listing plan was approved by the exchange in June 2011[19] and PCCW shareholders[18] on October 12, 2011,[20] allowing for the creation of Hong Kong's first publicly traded business trust.[18] The IPO ultimately raised around $1.2 billion.[5] with PCCW maintaining a majority interest in both HKT Trust and HKT Limited.[21] In November 2011,[9] Li became chairman of HKT Trust, HKT Limited, and HKT's executive committee.[14]

With Li as chairman, in December 2013 HKT agreed to acquire CSL New World Mobility, a subsidiary of Telstra, for HK$18.8 billion. The transaction was completed in early 2014.[16] In March 2015, PCCW Media acquired the mobile video provider Vuclip, and launched the streaming service Viu.[22] Viu was rolled out to 24 markets globally over the next two years,[23] and, by 2017, Viu, Vuclip, and the music streaming service MOOV had been bundled into the company PCCW OTT. That August, PCCW OT secured new investors including Hony Capital, Foxconn Ventures and Temasek.[24][25] Li was 15th in the Forbes list of Hong Kong's 50 richest people for 2017.[26] The same publication named him 385th in the list of the world's billionaires, with an estimated fortune of $4.3 billion.[27]

In September 2009, Li oversaw PCG's acquisition of AIG Investments for around $500 million,[7] renaming the asset management company PineBridge Investments.[28]

Re-entering the insurance business,[29] in March 2013, Li's PCG acquired the Hong Kong, Macau and Thailand insurance business of ING Groep N.V.[8] for $2.1 billion,[30] renaming it FWD Group.[8] With backing by Swiss Re, Li expanded FWD Group through acquisitions,[30] appointing Ronald Arculli as FWD chairman in October 2013.[29] In 2015, Li then appointed former Canadian foreign affairs minister John Baird as a non-executive director to both FWD and PineBridge.[31] By 2016, Li had overseen FWD's expansion into Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam and Japan.[32][33][34]

After Li purchased the Hanazono resort in Niseko, Hokkaido in 2007[35] through his company Pacific Century Premium Developments, development was delayed by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster.[36]

By 2018, he had invested a total of US$930 million in the project, with an onsen, apartments, and two hotels including a Park Hyatt[35] nearing completion by late 2019.[36]

In 2018, Li was quoted stating that his insurance businesses took up "70% to 80% of his time," with Li focused on expanding FWD in the Southeast Asian markets.[37] In 2019, FWD had around $30 billion in assets under management.[30] Also in 2019, Li's HKT announced it was establishing one of the first licensed virtual banks in Hong Kong, and in 2020 launched 5G wireless services.[38] Under Li, the insurance group bolttech was launched in early 2020.[39]

He continued to chair Pacific Century Group in 2020,[2] and remained chairman of PCCW Ltd. and HKT Limited. Also on the boards of companies such as PineBridge,[9] Li oversees PCCW subsidiaries such as PCCW Media and the IT and business process outsourcing company PCCW Solutions.[21] As of December 2020, Forbes estimated his net worth at $4.5 billion, ranking him 20th on its list of the richest businesspeople in Hong Kong, and 401st on its list of the world's billionaires.[2]