Honorary President, Chairman of the Board of Hutchison Whampoa Limited (HWL) and Cheung Kong Holdings. The market capitalization of the Cheung Kong Group's Hong Kong listed companies amounted to HK$1,148 billion as at 31 January 2015. The Group operates in 52 countries and employs over 240,000 staff worldwide. Through them, he is the world's largest operator of container terminals and the world's largest health and beauty retailer. Li Ka-shing was born in Chaozhou in Guangdong province, China, in 1928 to Teochew people. In 1950 he started his own company, Cheung Kong Industries. From manufacturing plastics, Li developed his company into a leading real estate investment company in Hong Kong that was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 1972. Cheung Kong expanded by acquiring Hutchison Whampoa and Hongkong Electric Holdings Limited in 1979 and 1985 respectively. The Cheung Kong Group was one of the largest developers of ports and related services, retail, infrastructure, energy, telecommunications, and finance&investments and others in Hong Kong. He founded the Li Ka Shing Foundation in 1980 and to date, the Foundation has granted over HK$14.5 billion in charitable donations, approximately 90 percent in support of education reform initiatives and medical services in Greater China region. In 1981, Mr Li founded Shantou University (STU), the only privately funded public university in China with a commitment of HK$6 billion to date. Li's success in business, his commitment to community service and contributions to society at large have brought him numerous honours including an honorary doctorate from Peking University.