Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing donates US$128mil to support local business

Billionaire Li Ka-shing, chairman of CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd. and Cheung Kong Property Holdings Ltd., adjusts his glasses during a news conference in Hong Kong, China, on Wednesday, March 22, 2017. Li appeared to hold back tears while speaking about Hong Kong's economy, underscoring the tycoon's continued pessimism about conditions in a market that he’s described as being in its worst state in two decades. Photographer: Justin Chin/Bloomberg

HONG KONG: Hong Kong's richest man Li Ka-shing will donate HK$1 billion (US$128mil) to support local small and medium sized businesses, his foundation said on Friday, a move that comes as the city's economy has been roiled by pro-democracy protests.

Hong Kong tycoons and property developers have come under pressure from Beijing for not doing enough to alleviate housing problems in the Chinese-ruled city.