Bulletin Autumn‧Winter 1993

CITATIONS their own company and called it Sun Hung Kai. The first wor d Sun was taken from Fung K i ng Hey's company Sun Hey Investment. The second word Hung came from Kwo k Tak Sing's company Hung Cheong Department Store and the last word Kai, or Kee i n Cantonese, is the 'Kee' of Lee Shau Kee's last name. Popularly known as the partnership of 'The Three Musketeers', Sun Hung Kai Properties went from strength to strength and became a listed company in 1972. Lee Shau Kee was vice-chairman and general manager of the company until he left to start his own business. It was, to all intents and purposes, an amicable parting. Lee Shau Kee is, to this day, a director of Sun Hung Ka i Properties and Sun Hung Ka i & Co ., the two companies whic h are now run by the offsprings of Kwo k Tak Sing and Fung King Hey. In 1973 Lee Shau Kee founded Henderson and went on to repeat the earlier phenomenal success he had achieved with Sun Hung Kai. He pioneered high-volume low-profit sales and specialized i n small-sized flats on 10-year mortgages. In 20 years, Henderson has developed over 450 buildings in Hong Kong. Every letter B certificate he acquires eventually turns into blocks of apartment houses. Starting with 20 sites in 1973, Henderson now owns no less than 80 sites in Hong Kong, Kowloon and the New Territories totalling 17 million square feet of accommodation value. From 1991, the company has expanded further into China under the direction of Dr. Lee's eldest son Lee Ka Kit. There are now around 20 sites under development in Shanghai, Beijing, the Shenzhen Special Economi c Zone, Guangzhou and other parts of Guangdong Province. Dr. Lee does not like to discuss his own success. It is easier to get a donation out of h im than an interview. His staff speak glowingly of his expert knowledge of the property business, his flexibility and his enthusiasm for making deals. Dr. Lee's knowledge of real estate comes from 35 years o f what management experts now call hands-on experience. He has dealt with a lot of people during that time, f r om the humblest farmer, the smallest contractor, to the most aggressive property developer. He is justly famous fo r his ability to see value in a deal and for his ability to close one in record time. To this day, even though he is a billionaire many times over, Lee Shau Kee would take personal calls from jus t about anyone who has a property deal to offer. The chairman's office of Hong Kong' s leading companies is generally regarded as the holy of holies and can only be approached through long corridors and past many layers o f security. Not so at Henderson Land . There, the chairman's office is next to the entrance lobby, because Lee Shau Kee wants to be close to where business comes in. Once he has closed a deal, Dr. Lee often takes a personal interest in the design of the apartment buildings, down to such details as where to put the door. His most famous saying, one which his staff take very seriously, is 'never waste an inch', because he knows the user 46th Congregation 22