Richard Li

Richard Li Tzar-kai
Born	1966 Deep Water Bay, Hong Kong
Occupation(s)	Entrepreneur, philanthropist
Years active	1990s–present
Known for	Founder and chairman of Pacific Century Group (PCG), founder of STAR TV, chairman of PCCW Ltd. and HKT Limited

Richard Li Tzar-kai is a prominent entrepreneur and philanthropist from Hong Kong, recognized as the founder and chairman of the private investment firm Pacific Century Group (PCG). His professional journey commenced in the 1990s with the creation of STAR TV, a satellite television network serving the Asian market. Following the establishment of PCG in 1993, he went on to develop PCCW and HKT Trust.

In 2010, PCG expanded by acquiring the asset management division of AIG Investments, subsequently rebranding it as PineBridge Investments. Three years later, in 2013, PCG introduced FWD Group. Richard Li currently holds leadership roles as chairman of PCG, PCCW Ltd., and HKT Limited, while also sitting on the boards of various companies including Pinebridge Investments. In 2020, Forbes estimated his net worth at $4.5 billion, ranking him as the 20th wealthiest individual in Hong Kong.

Early life and education

Born in 1966 in Deep Water Bay, Hong Kong, Li is the youngest son of businessman Li Ka-shing. He grew up alongside his elder brother Victor in Hong Kong and attended St. Paul's Co-educational College. At age thirteen, he relocated to the United States to continue his education at Menlo School in California. During his high school years, he took on part-time jobs including working at McDonald's and caddying for golfers. Li pursued studies in computer engineering at Stanford University until 1987 but left after three years due to personal considerations.

Establishing PCG

Li’s early career involved fund management at an investment bank located in Toronto, Canada, where he also obtained Canadian citizenship during the 1980s. In 1990, he returned to Hong Kong to join the fund-management division of Hutchison Whampoa, serving as executive director between 1992 and 1993 and then as deputy chairman from 1993 to 2000.

That same year, Li launched STAR TV, a satellite television network broadcasting Western programming across over 50 countries by 2005. STAR TV was eventually sold to media mogul Rupert Murdoch in two transactions during 1993 and 1995 for a combined total of USD $950.5 million.

With capital from STAR TV’s sale, Li founded Pacific Century Group (PCG) in 1993, an investment company based in Asia where he serves as CEO and chairman. PCG’s portfolio includes sectors such as real estate, financial services, technology, and media & telecommunications.

Additionally, he held the position of executive director at Hongkong Electric Holdings from 1993 until 2000 and acted as chairman of Singapore's Pacific Century Regional Developments Limited from 1994 through to 2020.

PCCW and HKT Trust

In 1996, Li established Pacific Century CyberWorks (PCCW), assuming the chairmanship from 1999 onward and continuing after its rebranding to PCCW Ltd. in 2002. His Canadian citizenship facilitated participation in bids for companies like Air Canada and Bell Canada Enterprises, circumventing foreign ownership limitations. PCCW’s acquisition of Cable & Wireless HKT in 2000 for US$38 billion represented Asia’s largest corporate takeover at that time, positioning PCCW as Hong Kong’s leading fixed-line and wireless provider. Li joined the board of the Bank of East Asia in 2001 and remained until 2017.

In 2004, Li separated Pacific Century Premium Developments (PCPD), a property company, from PCCW and served as its chairman until 2019. As chairman of PCCW and its executive committee, he orchestrated the 2011 spin-off and subsequent initial public offering of PCCW’s telecommunications assets under the name HKT Trust on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. This IPO raised around $1.2 billion, marking Hong Kong’s inaugural publicly listed business trust while PCCW retained controlling interests in both HKT Trust and HKT Limited. Li took on chairmanship roles for both entities starting November 2011.

Under his guidance, HKT acquired CSL New World Mobility from Telstra for HK$18.8 billion by early 2014 following a late-2013 agreement. In 2015, PCCW Media expanded its digital offerings by purchasing mobile video platform Vuclip and launching streaming service Viu, which reached 24 markets within two years. By 2017, Viu along with Vuclip and music streaming platform MOOV were consolidated into PCCW OTT. That year saw investments into PCCW OTT from firms such as Hony Capital, Foxconn Ventures, and Temasek.

In Forbes rankings for 2017, Li was placed fifteenth among Hong Kong’s wealthiest individuals and ranked globally at number 385 with an estimated net worth of $4.3 billion.

PineBridge and FWD Group

In September 2009, Li spearheaded PCG's purchase of AIG Investments for approximately $500 million, subsequently renaming the entity PineBridge Investments.

Marking a return to the insurance sector, PCG acquired ING’s insurance operations in Hong Kong, Macau, and Thailand for $2.1 billion in March 2013, rebranding the business as FWD Group. Supported by Swiss Re, Li pursued growth through strategic acquisitions and appointed Ronald Arculli as chairman in October 2013. In 2015, former Canadian foreign affairs minister John Baird joined both FWD and PineBridge as a non-executive director. By 2016, FWD had expanded its presence into markets including Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam, and Japan.

Recent developments

After acquiring the Hanazono resort in Niseko, Hokkaido via Pacific Century Premium Developments in 2007, Li encountered setbacks caused by the 2011 disaster. By 2018, he had invested roughly US$930 million into developing an onsen, residential apartments, and two hotels—among them a Park Hyatt—with completion anticipated by late 2019.

In 2018, Li revealed that his insurance ventures occupied "70% to 80% of his time," emphasizing efforts to grow FWD across Southeast Asia. By the following year, FWD managed assets totaling about $30 billion. In 2019, Li’s HKT announced intentions to launch one of Hong Kong’s pioneering licensed virtual banks and rolled out 5G services in 2020. Early that year also saw the introduction of bolttech, an insurance group launched under his leadership.

Throughout 2020, Li maintained his role as chairman of Pacific Century Group while continuing to lead PCCW Ltd. and HKT Limited. He holds board positions at PineBridge and oversees PCCW subsidiaries such as PCCW Media and the business process outsourcing company PCCW Solutions. As of December 2020, Forbes valued his net worth at $4.5 billion, placing him 20th among Hong Kong’s wealthiest individuals and 401st worldwide.

Boards and public positions

Li serves on the Global Information Infrastructure Commission, participates in the United Nations, and is part of the International Councillors Group at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington DC. His past roles include Governor of the World Economic Forum for Information Technologies and Telecommunications and representing the Hong Kong government on the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Business Advisory Council (ABAC) from 2009 until 2014. His efforts earned recognition from the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Rita Lau, for elevating Hong Kong’s standing within this critical regional business platform.

He formerly held a council membership at the Chinese University of Hong Kong but no longer maintains affiliation. Additionally, Li is a full member of the Hong Kong Computer Society.

Philanthropy

In 2006, Li contributed CA$1 million to the Canadian National Arts Centre Foundation based in Ottawa, establishing the Annual Richard Li Young Artist Chair to support mentoring programs for emerging musicians.

Under his leadership at PCCW, numerous charitable initiatives were launched. During the SARS outbreak of 2002–03, PCCW offered telecommunications assistance to patients, healthcare workers, and fundraising efforts; initiated a storytelling program for quarantined children; donated $1 million to the Business Community Relief Fund for Victims of SARS; and engaged employees in volunteer activities. In 2007, PCCW volunteers aided the District Elderly Campaign by distributing gift packages to senior citizens.

Following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Li’s PCG contributed surgical masks to healthcare personnel and nonprofit organizations across Hong Kong in February 2020.

Recognition

In November 2011, Li was bestowed with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia. Additionally, he received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee medal in recognition of his exceptional contributions to both business and charitable causes in Canada.

Personal life

Li's previous partner, Isabella Leong, a singer from Hong Kong, gave birth to their first son, Ethan, in April 2008, followed by twins in June 2010. The couple parted ways amicably in March 2011 but have maintained a cooperative approach to raising their children. Li is licensed to pilot aircraft in both the United States and Canada and holds certification as a divemaster. In 2016, he acquired the exclusive top-level domain .richardli for $250,000.

External links

• Richard Li at Pacific Century Group