HK tycoons: on the front line with mainland firms

Hong Kong’s business moguls are using different tactics in the face of fierce competition with mainland Chinese companies that are rapidly expanding overseas.

The tycoons’ fate offers a glimpse into a possible future for other companies that will face the mainlanders as Beijing pursues a China-centred trading network with countries identified in its Belt and Road Initiative and as business disrupters, such as Alibaba and Tencent, tackle new markets.

For many in Hong Kong who lionise self-made men, the rise of new cultural icons such as Alibaba’s Jack Ma spells the demise of local billionaires. For some families that will be true others are evolving to...