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Asia-PacificFebruary 2 2005

Adrian Li

general manager and head of corporate lending, Bank of East Asia If Adrian Li, 31, succeeds his father David Li as head of the Bank of East Asia, as widely expected, it would be another milestone for the Li family, which founded the bank in 1918 in Hong Kong.
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Mr Li was pushed into the limelight at 27, when he was appointed general manager and head of corporate banking in 2001, the same year he married the daughter of a Hong Kong property tycoon. Since then, he has raised his public profile, attending marketing activities of his bank and sitting on the boards of trade associations and government bodies in Hong Kong.

However, he will have a few more years to learn about the industry before the torch will be passed on to him. His father, who is 64, asked the board in June 2004 to extend his term for another five years until 2009.

The transition comes at a crucial time for Hong Kong’s biggest indigenous bank. The city’s banking business has matured, with rising costs but slow growth in number of customers.

Margins on the once-lucrative mortgage business have deteriorated, while new businesses such as wealth management have yet to take off. The bank is putting high hopes on China, where it has opened five branches and received licences to do a wide range of businesses.

For Mr Li, the challenge is to identify the niche for his bank in a difficult market that is aggressively explored by global giants. If he can do so, he is likely to remain at the bank for a long time – like his father, who was chief executive for 23 years and chairman for seven.

Risks: The Li family declared a meagre 1.25% interest in the bank, but the extended family has an estimated 20%. This should ensure adequate support for the transfer of control to Adrian Li, if this is the family plan. Another possible successor is his younger brother, Brian, who was recently appointed as general manager in charge of the new division of wealth management. Whoever succeeds, the Li dynasty is likely to live on.

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