On December 12th, Hong Kong’s richest man Li Ka-shing reduced his holdings in China Postal Savings Bank’s H shares, decreasing his stake from 5.07% to 4.96%. This marked the first time this month that he reduced his shares in the state-owned bank after four previous reductions in October, attracting attention from mainland commentary.
According to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange’s official website, Li Ka-shing, his son Victor Li, and the Li Ka Shing (Canada) Foundation sold 20.82 million H shares of Postal Savings Bank at an average price of HK$4.5408 per share on December 12th, reducing their stake from 5.07% to 4.96%. This transaction allowed the Li family and the foundation to cash out approximately HK$94,539,456.
This was not the first time that Li Ka-shing and his son have recently reduced their holdings in Postal Savings Bank’s H shares. From October 14th to October 30th, they reduced their ownership in the bank four times, bringing their stake down from 9.03% to 5.97%. Based on the average price of the shares sold during these reductions, the Li family cashed out around HK$733 million.
On October 30th, Cheung Kong Group responded to the news outlets stating that the recent reduction in Postal Savings Bank shares was part of the daily financial operations of the Li Ka Shing Foundation and was not related to the bank’s business development.
The Li Ka Shing Foundation was established in 1980, focusing primarily on supporting education and medical projects. Mr. Li Ka-shing has invested over HK$30 billion in education, medical, poverty alleviation, and public welfare projects, with 80% of these projects located in mainland China and Hong Kong.
In September 28, 2016, Postal Savings Bank officially listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. At that time, a spokesperson for the CK Group disclosed that Li Ka-shing, through his charity foundation and eldest son Victor Li, held linked notes equivalent to a 11.62% equity interest in Postal Savings Bank’s H shares, with a market value of over HK$10 billion at the then-current market price. The spokesperson emphasized that Li Ka-shing viewed this as a long-term investment.
Since the listing of Postal Savings Bank’s H shares, Li Ka-shing and Victor Li had previously sold 50,000 shares on September 29, 2022, and 22.49 million shares on May 11, 2023.
It is worth noting that this year, Li Ka-shing’s real estate companies have garnered attention due to several discounted property sales.
According to the “China Fund News” report, more than a year after obtaining the pre-sale permit, Li Ka-shing launched sales for the last real estate project in Beijing, Imperial Garden. On October 26th, with a previously recorded price of nearly 100,000 yuan per square meter, Imperial Garden directly released 7.6 million yuan per square meter special discounted homes, causing a frenzy of purchases.
According to data from the Shell platform, Imperial Garden, as a new property, is priced lower than nearby second-hand properties in the same category.