HK tycoon Li Ka Shing reportedly slashes Zoom stake as shares tanked

HK tycoon Li Ka Shing has reportedly slashed Zoom stake as the video-conferencing app’s stock has dropped to pre-pandemic levels. Li's current holding in the company represents about 5% of his fortune, down from one-third at the stock’s peak, according to a report by Bloomberg.

The report said that he dropped 2.9 million shares between March and the end of last year, a holding worth about US$275 million, based on the average price for the period. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Li’s current ownership in the businesses he founded including property developer CK Asset Holdings and conglomerate CK Hutchison Holdings, represent more than half of his US$29.5 billion fortune.

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out to Li for a statement. 

Li started buying Zoom stake in 2013, and his position was worth about US$850 million when the company listed in the U.S. in 2019, meaning that Zoom once comprised the largest portion of Li Ka-shing’s fortune. Back in February 2021, Li transferred1.6% of his holding to his son Richard Li in a US$2 billion revamp.According to the report, Li still owns a 6.9% stake in Zoom, but its value has tumbled to US$1.6 billion from US$11 billion, which was stock’s peak in October 2020.

Zoom became a household name when remote work and video-conferencing  were some of the global trends during the pandemic, with its shares surging during the lockdowns. However, as people are returning to their pre-pandemic lives, shares of Zoom tumbled about 90% from their pandemic peak in October 2020, according to a report by Reuters. Recently, Eric Yuan, CEO of Zoom, has announced that the company is laying off some 1,300 employees, or about 15% of its workforce.

Apart from Li Ka Shing, Hungarian-American businessman George Soros’s investment firm, Soros Fund Management, which had 98,600 shares in Zoom Video at the end of the third quarter, liquidated all of its Zoom position in the fourth quarter, according to Bloomberg.

Don't miss: Zoom hits refresh on visual identity

Back in September last year, Zoom updated its visual identity, including colour palette, typography, and product icons, among others. Working with 72andSunny, the company also updated its core blue (pictured below right) to enhance legibility and advance accessibility on the platform.

The update comes as Zoom aims to better explain to current and potential customers the benefits of its communications platform. While the company declined to reveal the monetary value behind its brand refresh, it told MARKETING-INTERACTIVE that it will roll out the new brand elements over the coming weeks, including updating the Zoom logo, brand colours, and typography on its website, products, social media channels, and anywhere else Zoom is represented.

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