Cheung Kong (holdings) Limited history

Cheung Kong is the flagship company for the property-to-telecommunications empire built up in Hong Kong by Li Ka-shing, who started his meteoric rise in business around 1960 by making plastic flowers.

Under hans ledning växte företaget snabbt och utvecklades till fastighetsutvecklingsföretaget Cheung Kong Holdings Limited 1971.

Företaget noterades på Hongkongbörsen 1972.

Recognizing the static nature of the Hong Kong property market in 1973, Li Ka-shing informed his shareholders that his company would look to increase its supply of regular rental income from its properties, to protect their interests.

At the end of 1975 Cheung Kong had some 5.1 million square feet of commercial and residential space.

Improving market conditions in Hong Kong in 1976 helped boost the company's profits that year to HK$58.8 million, a rise of 29 percent over the previous year.

The renown Li Ka-shing was gaining in the Hong Kong financial community was confirmed a year later, in 1977, when Cheung Kong announced its profits up a further 45 percent to HK$85.55 million.

In 1978 the company's profits continued to rise.

In 1979 the company saw a 91.6 percent rise in profits to HK$254.1 million.

In addition, the Hong Kong Hilton Hotel increased its profits for 1980 by 34 percent, compared with the previous year.

At the Hong Kong Hilton Hotel, profits were 10 percent lower than in 1982, reflecting strong competition from new hotels coming on stream in the colony, and a fall in the worldwide tourist trade owing to recessionary pressures in Europe and the United States.

Even more difficult problems were projected for 1983.

With a 20 percent interest in the Shun Tak Centre, due for completion in 1984, the final complex was to include a total 1.5 million square feet of office space.

A long-awaited improvement in earnings for the company came in 1985 when profits reached HK$551.7 million, 158 percent higher than the previous year.

Cheung Kong moved ahead in 1987, producing profits of HK$1.58 billion, 23 percent over earnings posted a year earlier.

A shortage of office space in Hong Kong contributed to strong profits for Cheung Kong in 1989.

Meanwhile, Li, together with son Victor, ventured into satellite broadcasting, founding Star TV. In 1993, Li sold two-thirds of that company to Rupert Murdoch for US$525 million.

The final piece of the Cheung Kong empire is its stake in the electric monopoly Hong Kong Electric (HKE). In January 1997, Cheung Kong restructured its business, providing, among other features, for a full takeover of HKE by Cheung Kong.

According to Forbes, it is considered one of the top 2000 largest public companies in the world.