The grandson of Hong Kong real estate giant co-founder Sun Hung Kai is charting his own course as a tech investor

Joseph Fung knows very well that he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. The 41-year-old is the grandson of legendary stock trader Fung King Hey, one of the "Three Musketeers", along with Lee Shau Kee and Kwok Tak Seng, who co-founded Sun Hung Kai Properties in Hong Kong, l one of the biggest in the world. property developers by market capitalization.

It was this realization that gave Joseph the courage to chart his own course. While the descendants of Lee Shau Kee and Kwok Tak Seng remained in real estate, Joseph is trying to make a name for himself as an investor focused on a completely independent sector: life sciences.

“There is a high level of humility that needs to be built in,” Joseph says in an interview. "Just because you're knowledgeable in one industry doesn't mean you can easily survive or even make your way with just pure capital in another industry."

He adds, "I think that's really important because sometimes when you grow up with a silver spoon, you think you can use that capital to make sure that you have the hegemony to continue to be the largest market player in this sector.”

Founded in 1963, Sun Hung Kai Properties has co-developed Hong Kong's two tallest skyscrapers, the International Commerce Center and the International Finance Centre, and its other properties include the Four Seasons and Ritz- Carlton of the city.

In 1972, Sun Hung Kai Properties listed in Hong Kong with a market capitalization of HK$400 million. Its market capitalization now exceeds 300 billion Hong Kong dollars (approximately $40 billion), making it the second-largest Hong Kong company on the city's stock exchange after its listed operator, Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing. .

A year after Sun Hung Kai Properties went public, Lee Shau Kee started another real estate developer, Henderson Land; in 2019, he stepped down from running the company and passed the reins to his two sons, Peter and Martin, who made them co-presidents.

Meanwhile, several children and grandchildren of the late Kwok Tak Seng (who died in 1990 aged 79) are directors of Sun Hung Kai Properties, including Chairman Raymond (Kwok Tak's youngest son Seng) and his sons