Li gave reporters a piece of his mind during a briefing, saying some people in the media have been making "unreasonable accusations" without doing their homework first.

"It makes me feel very disappointed about some people who work in the media industry," said Li in uncharacteristically fluid Cantonese. "This kind of person, they don't know anything."

The billionaire said everything he has done regarding the privatization offer is legal, reasonable and fair.

"From the bottom of my heart, I don't feel I have done anything wrong. I never asked anyone to buy shares during the privatization offer, and I didn't try to influence the direction of anyone's voting."

He added that, as far as he knows, nobody inside or outside the company has done anything illegal or inappropriate in relation to the privatization proposal.

Li said he has "absolutely no regrets at all" about making an offer to take PCCW private, which he believes gives shareholders a chance to "monetize their investment."

Li said he had been longing to speak out and personally clarify his position, but company lawyers had advised him to keep mum during the offer period.

Finally, despite their protests, he decided to come forward after clearing his comments with the regulators first.

Meanwhile, Li said it is "really idiotic" when some commentators say he is privatizing PCCW without spending a cent of his own money.

"Netcom and I, we need to borrow about HK$16 billion. We need to pay interest, and we need to pay it back. How can you say this is not using a penny?"

Li admitted he once thought about dropping the privatization plan because risk has increased due to the market environment. But he believes the right thing to do is to carry through his plan to the end.

When asked whether he plans to sell off PCCW's assets after the privatization, Li said that, as of today, he has not thought of selling the company's assets. But he added: "I won't say 'Let wealth and fame drift by like clouds.' And I also won't say, 'Let popular opinion drift by like clouds.' I want all those things."

The quip was a reference to a line by Tang dynasty poet Du Fu often quoted by Li's father, Hutchison Whampoa (0013) chairman Li Ka- shing: "Let wealth and fame drift by like clouds."

In response to allegations that his privatization offer of HK$4.50 a share is unfair, Li noted that the Hang Seng Index has fallen 27 percent since his original offer was unveiled. HSBC (0005) shares have seen almost two- thirds of their value erased during the same period, he said.

In response to criticisms about his absence at shareholder meetings convened for voting on the privatization proposal, Li said he was on overseas business trips attending to PCCW business.