Billionaire Li Ka-shing retires

Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing, chairman of CK Hutchison Holdings company, speaks during a press conference to announce the companys annual results in Hong Kong, Friday, March 16, 2018. Hong Kong billionaire Li said Friday he is retiring as chairman of his sprawling conglomerate and handing control to his eldest son. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

HONG KONG: Li Ka-shing (pic), a wartime refugee who used to sweep factory floors in Hong Kong for a living, retired after a career spanning more than half a century amassing one of Asia’s biggest fortunes from building skyscrapers to selling soap bars.

The 89-year-old chairman of CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd and CK Asset Holdings Ltd will stay an adviser to the group after stepping down in May. Elder son Victor, 53, will take over a conglomerate that touches the lives of practically everyone in Hong Kong – the family’s Power Assets Holdings Ltd generates their electricity and ParknShop supermarkets sell their groceries. The group also operates mobile-phone stores and Superdrug and Savers in the UK, owns ports around the world and a controlling stake in Husky Energy Inc in Canada.