Numerous tycoons in Hong Kong join China-backed chief executive nominee John Lee as part of his team of consultants, including Li Ka-shing, the city's wealthiest billionaire.
Hong Kong’s ex-chief secretary John Lee has formed a 58-person consultant team that includes the city’s top billionaires, according to a social media post.
Various established business players were on the list such as Sun Hung Kai’s Raymond Kwok, New World Development’s Henry Cheng, Sino Land’s Robert Ng, Bank of East Asia’s David Li and the city’s wealthiest tycoon, Li Ka-shing.
Earlier this week, the Hong Kong government confirmed that Lee was the only candidate nominated to be chief executive for the uncontested election next month.
Mixed Views
Despite the public support from Hong Kong’s top billionaires, there are mixed views elsewhere about the outlook for Lee as the city’s chief executive.
According to a «South China Morning Post» report that cited anonymous international diplomats and businessmen, there were some expressed concerns about a lack of exposure to the business world while others underlined positive personality traits, including humility and open-mindedness.
«I think Beijing wants to preserve Hong Kong as an international financial center but I have no doubt that for Beijing, national security and further strengthening political control over Hong Kong comes first,» said one of the consul-generals of an unnamed European country to the newspaper.
