Li hikes stake in holding firm

HONG KONG: Cheung Kong (Holdings) Ltd Chairman Li Ka-shing, Hong Kong's richest man, is buying more shares in the property developer, the worst-performing stock this year among the city's five biggest real-estate companies.

Li paid HK$424 million for 4.39 million shares, about HK$96.50 each, on Nov 24, the biggest of eight purchases this month, according to the Hong Kong stock exchange data. He now owns a 40.9 percent stake, the data showed. Cheung Kong fell 0.7 percent to HK$97.8 at noon in Hong Kong yesterday.

The benchmark Hang Seng Property Index has surged 64 percent this year, compared with a 35 percent gain in Cheung Kong, as record low interest rates and the rebounding local economy lifted housing prices.