Hong Kong billionaire targeted with baseless mansion sale claims

Published on August 15, 2025 at 08:50
Updated on August 15, 2025 at 10:35
3 min read
By Anne CHAN, AFP Hong Kong

The family of Hong Kong’s wealthiest man Li Ka-shing said his old mansion in the Chinese city has not been listed for sale, refuting rumours that surfaced online as his conglomerate is caught in a US-China spat. The false posts misrepresent a real estate website’s information page about Li’s house.

"Li Ka-shing is selling his old mansion worth HKD 5 billion ($637 million) in a complete withdrawal from Hong Kong!" reads an X post in simplified Chinese posted on July 28, 2025.

It also shares a screenshot of a house's main gate along with the address 79 Deep Water Bay Road -- home of the Hong Kong billionaire -- on the website of real estate agency Centaline Property.

Screenshot of the false post on X taken on August 13, 2025, with a red X added by AFP

Similar posts also surfaced in Douyin, RedNote, Facebook, Threads and Reddit after Beijing stepped up scrutiny on Li's CK Hutchison over a deal involving the strategic Panama Canal.

The firm in March proposed the sale of its global ports business -- including operations in the vital Central American waterway -- to a US-led consortium.

The deal was seen as a political win for US President Donald Trump, who had vowed to "take back" the Panama Canal from alleged Chinese control (archived link).

China has warned of legal consequences should parties proceed without clearance from Beijing, and CK Hutchison said in July it was looking to invite a Chinese "major strategic investor" to join discussions (archived link).

But a spokesperson for Centaline told AFP on August 13, 2025 that the circulating screenshot only shows an introduction to the house, and is "not related to selling or leasing".

She went on to say the claim that the house had been listed for sale on the website is "not true and is entirely fabricated".

Keyword searches led to the house's page on the company's website, and it does not include an asking price as claimed in the false post (archived link).

Screenshot of Centaline webpage, taken on August 14, 2025

The search results also directed to the property pages in other real estate platforms Spacious, Midland and Ricacorp, but none of them included any official announcement of the home's sale (archived here, here and here).

Victor Li, the billionaire's eldest son, denied that his family home was being sold and described the online speculation as "fake".

"We have never intended to sell the property at 79 Deep Water Bay Road. Certain online reports and posts on social media regarding the sale of the property at 79 Deep Water Bay Road are completely fabricated and unfounded," he said in a statement emailed by CK Asset -- CK Hutchison's sister company -- to AFP on August 4, 2025.

Victor took over as chairman of CK Hutchison and CK Asset after his father retired as chairman of both companies in March 2018 (archived here, here, here and here).

AFP has previously debunked misinformation about Li Ka-shing here and here.

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