(Reuters) -Billionaire Richard Li's efforts to expand his insurance business into mainland China have been put on hold after Beijing reacted with fury to his father Li Ka-shing's plan to sell a suite of global ports to BlackRock, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday.
Richard, business tycoon Li Ka-shing's younger son, was in advanced talks to secure an insurance license in China, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter.
The discussions were suspended shortly after the port sale was announced in early March amid growing uncertainty over Beijing's stance on the deal, the report said.
A deal would have given FWD Group, Li's insurance firm, long-sought access to the lucrative Chinese market, possibly through an acquisition or partnership with a mainland insurance firm, it said.
Reuters could not immediately verify the report. FWD Group declined to comment.
Bloomberg had reported in March that China has instructed state-owned firms to pause new deals with businesses linked to Li Ka-shing and his family after his plan to sell two ports in Panama to a BlackRock-led consortium.
FWD Group raised $442 million through an initial public offering in Hong Kong earlier this week.
(Reporting by Rhea Rose Abraham in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)
Richest man in Asia and eleventh global fortune according to Forbes in 2011, Li Ka-shing is the boss of conglomerates Hutchison Whampoa, Cheung Kong Holdings and Watson Group, the world leader in port management.
At 17 years old, Li Ka-shing left his studies to sell watches in the store of his uncle. Quickly he becomes the best seller and at the age of 19, he is hired by a company to sell various metal items. Seller the day, he also works the night to monitor the manufacturing process. This job allows him to control the operation of a factory and the product’s commercialization.
In 1947, Li Ka-shing borrows some money to his family and begin selling artificial flowers. He creates a factory for the production and hires the best salesmen. The notoriety of the firm increases and Li Ka-shing signs profitable contracts. In a few years,he becomes the biggest provider of artificial flowers in Asia.
In the sixties, the Cultural Revolution moves lot of people to leave the country and the real estate’ price drop sharply. Li Ka-shing is convinced that prices will go up so he decides to buy a lot of lands. In 1971, he creates the real estate company Cheung Kong.
In a few years, the businessman appears like “the strong man of the real estate” in Hong Kong. Front of the globalization, he begins to invest in ports.
In 1979, Li Ka-shing takes the control of Hutchison Whampoa Limited which he holds 22%. From that time on, starts a rapid expansion which allows HWL to establish in Rotterdam and Panama. The group becomes the first global port operator.
Since, Li Ka-shing has continued to increase investment in areas such as telephony. In 1999, he sold his 48% shares in Orange to the group Mannesman for nearly 15 billion dollars.
First investor in the 3G, he is the leader in this area in Europe.
He has also invested $ 120 million in the social network Facebook (he holds 0.8%).
In 2005 he bought the perfumery chain Marionnaud. He also holds the airline Air Canada.
BlackRock, Inc., formerly BlackRock Funding, Inc., is an investment management company. It provides a range of investment management and technology services to institutional and retail clients. Its diverse platform of alpha-seeking active, index and cash management investment strategies across asset classes enables the Company to tailor investment outcomes and asset allocation solutions for clients. Its product offerings include single- and multi-asset portfolios investing in equities, fixed income, alternatives, and money market instruments. Its products are offered directly and through intermediaries in a range of vehicles, including open-end and closed-end mutual funds, iShares and exchange-traded funds, separate accounts, collective investment funds and other pooled investment vehicles. It also offers technology services, including the investment and risk management technology platform, Aladdin, Aladdin Wealth, eFront, and Cachematrix, as well as advisory services and solutions.
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