BUILDING ICONS

PETER AND MARTIN LEE DISCUSS THEIR FIRST YEAR AS JOINT CHAIRMEN OF HENDERSON LAND, THEIR FATHER’S LEGACY AND THEIR FUTURE PLANS FOR THE DIVERSIFIED PROPERTY GIANT.

- Robert Olsen

Hong Kong’s richest man Lee Shau Kee, 92, marked a milestone last May when he stepped down from running his flagship Henderson Land after 43 years, and handed the reins to his two sons, Peter and Martin, making them joint chairmen. So how does the pair plan to lead one of Asia’s largest and most successful real estate firms?

The elder Peter Lee Ka Kit, 56, and the younger Martin Lee Ka Shing, 48, answered this question—and many more—in an exclusive interview held in January, the first-ever by the two brothers together (the father remains an executive director on the Henderson Land board).

The pair were not given an easy start in their new roles—including protests and a recession in Hong Kong, the U.S.-China trade war (Henderson has massive mainland China investments) and dealing with the coronavirus outbreak. “There were a lot of things to do in the first year,” deadpans Martin.

Two International Finance Centre (middle), Hong Kong’s second tallest skyscraper, which is part of the larger IFC complex.

They work together, they say, with a solid relationship of mutual respect and trust, formed in childhood. “It’s like yin and yang,” says Peter. During the interview, they often mirror each other’s comments. “We each have our own expertise, and we respect each other’s views,” says Peter. “It’s like a partnership. For more than 15 years, we’ve been working this way. I’m lucky to have my brother with me.”