HONG Kong's top 40 billionaires' wealth has risen to $US163 billion from $US135 billion last year as China's growing economy bolstered their investments, according to Forbes magazine.
Li Ka-shing, who controls Cheung Kong (Holdings) and Hutchison Whampoa, retained the top spot on the list with $US24 billion, up from $US21.3 billion last year, Forbes said.
The family of Thomas Kwok and Raymond Kwok, vice-chairmen of Sun Hung Kai Properties, the world's biggest developer by market value, came in second with $US20 billion, up from $US17 billion a year earlier.
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''Much has changed in China in the past few decades,'' Russell Flannery, a senior editor at Forbes, said.
''But Hong Kong's role as an important conduit between foreign businesses and the mainland's economy hasn't, and that's very apparent in this year's Hong Kong list.''
Lee Shau-kee, chairman of Henderson Land Development Co, is No. 3 on the list with $US19.5 billion, a rise of $US500 million. Cheng Yu-tung, who controls New World Development, was in fourth place with $US9 billion.
Developers dominate the Hong Kong list, with more than a third of the top 40 making the bulk of their wealth from real estate.
Hong Kong house prices rose almost 20 per cent last year on record-low mortgage rates and the influx of buyers from China.
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