Asia’s richest man is a big UK investor
BILLIONAIRE Li Ka-Shing has added to his already extensive portfolio of UK companies with the Eversholt deal.
In the past, he has invested heavily in British utility infrastructure, paying £645m for gas distribution firm Wales & West Utilities in 2010 and led a consortium that bought the UK electricity distribution arm of EDF Energy for £5.8bn in 2010.
He also bought Northumbrian Water for £2.4bn in 2011, the same year that he offered £3.5bn for the UK arm of German utility firm E.On. On that occasion he was beaten by US company PPL.
Li, who is a British citizen, set up what was to become mobile phone company Orange, which he sold for $14.6bn (£9.6bn) in 1999, just before the collapse of the telecoms market.
And in addition, his company Hutchison Whampoa owns the UK’s second largest beauty and health retailer, Superdrug.
According to Forbes, Li has been Hong Kong’s richest man for the past 17 years, and is also Asia’s richest. As of August, his net worth was estimated to be $34.6bn.