It is reported that recently, Temasek Holdings' Deputy Chief Executive Officer Xie Songhui revealed to the public:

"The plan for the Watsons Group to go public still exists, and the specific timing will be decided by the company's board of directors and management."

The richest man in Hong Kong, Li Ka-shing, is now heavily betting on Watsons, preparing to sprint for the title of the richest man in Asia!

NORA really feels quite emotional. In the blink of an eye, Watsons is preparing to go public, while Lawson Japan has decided to delist!

Both are brands that have accompanied us as we grew up, yet their development paths have diverged so greatly.

It's important to know that Watsons' IPO plan has been shelved for more than 10 years, and the rekindling of its IPO ambitions this year also implies a significant shift in Li Ka-shing's investment direction and style.

My researcher friends all say that he is most likely deciding to "bid farewell to real estate and return to the retail industry."

The development of Watsons in Hong Kong

In 1828, in Guangzhou, Guangdong, a British man came here to sell Western medicine and founded a large pharmacy, and also opened the first soda factory in Mainland China.

In 1841, the Guangdong pharmacy moved south to Hong Kong, no longer only selling medicine, but gradually emerging in the fields of cosmetics and department stores.

Thirty years later, the company officially changed its name to "Watsons," and its business gradually expanded to the mainland and overseas.

Not only that, but Watsons also secured the distribution rights for Coca-Cola in China, and the brand name gradually became well-known.

In 1981, Li Ka-shing revitalized a struggling Watsons.

At that time, Li Ka-shing had already achieved great success in the real estate field, but he turned around and, in the 1990s, whimsically used Watsons to open up the Mainland China market,

continuously acquiring other retail brands, laying out a large business map for real estate investment.

In 2014, Watsons had 10,000 stores worldwide, which increased to 16,500 in 24 years, and the revenue of the Mainland stores reached 183.34 billion yuan.

From the data, when Watsons began to soar in 2014, Brother Li chose the stronger wind of real estate, temporarily shelving Watsons' IPO plan, until this year, Brother Li decided to turn the ship around,

adjust the investment strategy, and Watsons' IPO plan was finally put on the agenda again!

However, everyone also knows how fierce the impact of internet e-commerce is on the retail industry today, so Watsons' IPO journey now also has great uncertainty, and the time left for Watsons is really not much!

Do you think Li Ka-shing can bet on the right horse this time?