Page 39 - Sphere No.13 (Dec 2004)

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in Australian utilities companies; and when a Milan
businessmen makes a videocall, it’s because HWL has built 3G
networks across eight countries worldwide.
Cityscapes as diverse as London, Singapore and Beijing
have been transformed by HWL’s property arm while its
hotels welcome guests in China and as far away as
Grand Bahama.
HWL’s health & beauty businesses are meanwhile changing
the face of retail across Europe and Asia, with operations that
span 20 countries and regions.
HWL’s impetus has accelerated greatly in the past 25 years.
Listed on the main board of Hong Kong Stock Exchange with
a market cap of US$36,199.06 million (as at Nov.26), HWL is
a key constituent of the Hang Seng Index.
This is a far cry from 1950 when 22-year-old immigrant
Li Ka-shing arrived from Mainland China with few assets
other than a sharp wit and a steely desire to succeed.
He established a plastics firm he named Cheung Kong (Long
River). The tiny enterprise was typical of thousands that
struggled through the desperate 50s and 60s, but hard work,
a keen acumen for business opportunities and adroit
management fuelled its success.
In September 1979 Cheung Kong took a majority stake in
HWL, making Li Ka-shing the first Chinese to take control
of a “hong,” one of the powerful and exclusive British-
controlled trading companies that dominated Hong Kong’s
business landscape.
Today, the Li Ka-shing Group of Companies is highly
respected across the globe and Mr Li Ka-shing is seen as the
epitome of Hong Kong success. The Li Ka Shing Foundation
has contributed more than HK$5 billion towards health,
education and culture, both at home and abroad.
In the 1950s, plastic flowers were hot. Half a century later,
Li Ka-shing and his Group are still at the cutting edge, this
time of the information and technology revolution,
combining Old Economy strength with New Economy vigour.
The vision remains strong.
I n April 1994, Hutchison Telecom
(UK) launched Orange plc as the
last entrant in a field of four mobile
telecoms operators in the UK.
Analysts were pessimistic about the
chances of success, forecasting that the
market would be unable to sustain a new entrant. Pundits
joked that Orange was a lemon.
Undeterred, Orange immediately began building a distinctive
identity that set it apart from the clutter. It’s branding,
masterminded by Doug Hamilton of Wolff Olins, was unlike
anything seen before.
The promotion began with mysterious “teaser” print
advertisements featuring the slogans: “Talk”, “Laugh”,
“Listen”, “Cry”.
TV advertising was equally provocative: “In the future we’ll
think it’s strange voices ever travelled down wires. The
future’s bright, the future’s Orange.”
Meanwhile, Orange announced the end of “money for
nothing” monthly line rentals and introduced innovations that
transformed customers’ negative perceptions on mobile com-
munications. Simple-to-understand talk plans, per-second
billing, caller ID, free itemised billing and direct customer rela-
tionships set the tone for the rest of the industry. Hutchison
Group Managing Director Canning Fok enthused, “Orange is
set to change the way people communicate, allowing people
to do the things they would like to do with ‘normal’ phones,
and more, on a small wire-free phone.”
Two years after its launch, the Orange brand was better
recognised than any of its rivals. “The really astonishing thing
about the success of Orange was how personal it all was,”
recalls Doug Hamilton, who is now Global Creative Director
of HWL’s Global Brands Group. “Just as victory has many
fathers, so success has many authors. Everyone who touched it
thought that somehow they had invented it, and in their own
way they had. Customers thought it had been specially made
for them, and in a way it had. Above all, the beauty of Orange
was in the simplicity of the idea; ‘the wirefree future,’ the opti-
mism of it, the brightness. It was brilliantly communicated, and
single-mindedly carried out with just a little bit of luck in the
timing. Unstoppable.”
An IPO on April 2, 1996, saw Orange plc shares listed on
the London and Nasdaq markets. Major shareholders at the
time were HWL with 48%, and British Aerospace with 22%.
With a valuation of £2.4 billion, Orange plc became the
youngest company to enter the FTSE-100.
By July 1997, Orange had signed up one million customers
and was named the best performing share in 1998.
In late 1999, Orange was sold to Mannessmann AG in a deal
for which HWL received US$14.6 billion in cash, notes and
shares for its stake in Orange plc.
HINDSIGHT
Stock code 13 on the HKSE
5 core businesses: ports & related services;
telecommunications; property & hotels,
retail & manufacturing; energy & infrastructure
Operations in 42 countries
Over 170,000 employees worldwide
Approximately HK$145 billion turnover and
HK$14 billion profit in 2003
206 berths in 35 ports
4,600 stores in 20 countries and regions
FACT FILE
1994