Wisdom from Asia's Richest Man

Asia's richest man, Mr Li Ka Shing, dispenses wisdom in this Bloomberg interview. A particular paragraph that stood out is his principle of operating his business. Trading and investing is a business by itself, trading edges and trends comes and goes. His words resonates as particularly applicable.

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Li said he has always been guided by the philosophy of having enough resources to be able to jump on new opportunities whenever they arise.

Cash flow “is the most important thing,” said Li. “I have always understood that the world changes a lot. Just because you’re doing well now, doesn’t mean you should be set in your ways.”
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Keeping a portion of funds in reserve to deploy in strategic and deep value opportunities as they arise. Be open to changing view points rapidly depending on the outlook and situation.

Evidence from his thinking on new opportunities and not having a set way of thinking, Mr Li made various early investments in tech startups including Facebook, Siri, Airbnb, Spotify and Google Deepmind. His approach can be contrasted against Mr Warren Buffet, who steadfastly held back on investments in Technology and IT companies for a long time and only focused on his area of expertise and stringent guidelines for investments. Both gentleman became very successful, proving there is no one single path to success.

Link: Hong Kong’s Richest Man Isn’t Worried About the Survival of His $80 Billion Empire
Link: Asian Godfathers: Money and Power in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia
(Note: Personally recommended book. Covers history, background and rise (and fall) of the powerful families, scions and storied individuals in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. Includes a huge list and write-up of characters from every country in the region and their role in the fabled history of money and power in Southeast Asia. If you have read a better book on this subject, let me know.)