Zoom boom!

The Zoom boom has sent the wealth of tycoon Li Ka Shing soaring as its shares jumped 41 percent on a sales surge.

Zoom Video Communications now accounts for one-third of Li's fortune of US$32.6 billion (HK$254.28 billion).

The tycoon's Hong Kong business empire may be lackluster, but he's managed to remain the city's richest man, largely thanks to an early bet on the operator of the video-conference app and Solina Chau, his long-time confidante who co-founded Li's venture-investment arm.

The 92-year-old first invested in Zoom in 2013. He now holds 8.5 percent of the company based in San Jose, California, a stake that's worth US$11 billion.

Zoom has been on a roll this year as the coronavirus shuttered offices and schools, forcing people to hold virtual meetings and classes.

On Monday, the US-listed company reported a 355 percent jump in sales for the three months ended July 31, the second-best result among Nasdaq 100 Index members last quarter.

That boosted the stock a further 41 percent on Tuesday, with Li's stake gaining US$3.2 billion in just one day.

He's now worth US$32.6 billion, says the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

While Zoom has surged this year, Li's conglomerates, CK Hutchison and CK Asset, have struggled amid the Covid-19 crisis and the anti-government protests that have hit Hong Kong.

The shares have lost more than a quarter of their value in 2020, and the tycoon who for decades profited by expanding in times of crisis is now scaling back, seeking cost cuts.

After reporting first-half profit dropped 29 percent, CK Hutchison warned last month that net income may fall at its core ports and retail businesses in the second half of the year. Meanwhile, CK Asset said earnings sank 58 percent in the six months through June.

Zoom's market capitalization reached US$129.12 billion yesterday, 5.2 times that of CK Hutchison and 6.5 times that of CK Assets.

Li's Zoom investment is partly thanks to Chau, who in 2002 co-founded Horizons Ventures, which manages Li's venture investments.

The vehicle was an early backer of Facebook, Spotify Technology SA and Siri, and has also invested in plant-based meat producer Impossible Foods.

It took part in Zoom funding rounds in 2013 and 2015, and when the company went public last year, Li's stake was worth about US$850 million. Horizons Ventures declined to comment.

Li's returns from investments through Horizons Ventures are allocated to his charity, the Li Ka Shing Foundation, which Li has referred to as his third son.

He put one-third of his wealth in it in 2006, or more than US$9 billion, said a 2015 statement from his business group. Chau, 59, is the foundation's executive director.

Meanwhile, Li Ka-shing's 24-year-old eldest granddaughter, Michelle Li, who is a daughter of Victor Li Tzar-kuoi, has been named as a director of the Li Ka Shing Foundation, local media reported yesterday.

Editorial: New beats old in pandemic economy