Husky’s new corporate jets?

Gary Park

Petroleum News Calgary correspondent

With their Husky Energy taking flight, Hong Kong’s Li family have their sights set on even greater heights as the scion of billionaire Li Ka-shing bids for control of Air Canada. Victor Li, who is being groomed to take the helm of his father’s global business empire and is himself known as “Superman” in Asian circles, is one of two bidders trying to acquire C$700 million of new equity in Air Canada to help Canada’s troubled flagship carrier emerge from bankruptcy protection.

Li, 39, became co-chairman of Husky three years ago when the integrated oil company went public after being privately held by firms controlled by the Li family.

But the family still kept a 71.5 percent interest — 36.5 percent through its own holding company in Luxembourg and 35 percent through Hutchison Whampoa.

Li has been viewed as one of the most influential decision-makers at Husky, which has turned cumulative losses of C$932 million in the 1991-1995 period to a bulging C$804 million profit in 2002.

That performance helped turn Husky from target to predator in August when it purchased the Western Canadian holdings of Marathon Oil for US$588 million and offloaded about 25 percent to EOG Resources for US$320 million.

In July, Husky announced a special dividend of C$1 a share, which netted the Li family C$152.5 million and Hutchison Whampoa C$146.5 million.

That came just weeks after Li Ka-shing transferred his family’s 36.5 percent interest to the tax haven of Luxembourg.

Tax lawyers and analysts suggest that some or all of the Husky dividend could be channeled into the Air Canada deal. Whatever the outcome, Victor Li is not unaccustomed to the turbulent downside of huge personal wealth. He was kidnapped by Chinese gangsters in 1996 and released after a US$125 million ransom was paid.