Li Ka-shing ditches ParknShop sale plan

Asia's richest man, Li Ka-shing, has abandoned a plan to sell his hometown supermarket chain ParknShop in Hong Kong, saying the Hutchison Whampoa group will focus on expansion on the Chinese mainland.

Potential buyers of ParknShop included well-known retailers such as China Resources Enterprise. The estimated acquisition price was between $3 billion and $4 billion.

But Li has sold Oriental Financial Center in Shanghai's Lujiazui financial district, in which his Hutchison Whampoa and Cheung Kong (Holdings) both had 50 percent of the shares.

The center sold for 7.1 billion yuan ($1.16 billion), with buyers including Hong Kong-listed China Everbright.

Hutchison Whampoa and Cheung Kong said in October 2006 they would invest a total of 1.74 billion yuan for property development in Lujiazui.

Oriental Financial Center was the only property project Cheung Kong owned in Lujiazui.