Finance company Konew Fintech is applying to the stock exchange for a listing.

And of the people who run the group, the face that is best known to the public must be Edwin Lee Kan-hing, a member of its founding family.

A successful initial public offering will put the group's market value at billions of dollars, which makes it a rather sizable operation in the sector.

A long-time friend of the Lee family told me the group's route to success has, in fact, been shaped by the force of circumstance.

Konew Fintech was set up by Lee's father, Lee Sheung-shing, and other family members, including his elder brother, Steven Lee Kun-tai.

Lee senior is an overseas Chinese hailing from Fujian, and the family moved here when the brothers were young. At the time, the family was a small developer with projects in Lan Kwai Fong.

As competition in local real estate turned cutthroat, the family decided to change course around 1997 and switched their focus from the capital market to money lending.

After years of successful operation in the credit business, the company is now in a position to launch its IPO.

Well known as a shop property investor, Lee used to be an elite investment banker in the US. He was in the World Trade Centre during the 9/11 terrorist attack, and narrowly escaped death.

After returning to Hong Kong, he set up business operations and made a name for himself. His elder brother, meanwhile, has been the anchor in the growth of Konew Fintech.

In recent years, the company has ventured into financial technology. But as this segment of business carries a higher risk, it isn't covered in the current listing exercise.

The family friend observes that Steven Lee is an avid learner. When the company ventured into financial technology, he worked hard to study block chain and successfully mastered this important fintech tool.

From his experience, we can again see crises and opportunities as an integral part of running a business. When you run into challenges, you must change.

There is one core constant though - hard work.

Siu Sai-wo is publisher of Sing Tao Daily

Edwin Lee, left, and Steven Lee.

Hard work pays off again