Henry Fok Ying-tung's vision, innovative spirit and entrepreneurship started the trend of investment in the Chinese mainland drawn from Hong Kong and overseas. His various projects had a significant impact on economic development in Guangdong province, and, by extension, the whole country.

In addition to promoting economic reform, Fok devoted strenuous efforts to helping the nation gain membership of a number of international sporting organizations that were important to the rise of modern China.

When he died in 2006 at age 83, he was vice-chairman of the 10th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the country's top political advisory body.

Born in Hong Kong in 1923, Fok had humble beginnings, having lost his father at a young age. He started secondary education at Queen's College in the city, but left when Hong Kong fell to Japanese forces in December 1941.

In partnership with 12 other businesspeople, his mother opened a grocery store, which Fok soon took over. After World War II, he made money at government auctions of unwanted military supplies. Having studied English he could easily read the lists of items.

He was also involved in the transportation sector. During the Korean War (1950-53), China was placed under an embargo by the British government in Hong Kong by way of a UN resolution, but Fok provided ships to transport essential supplies such as medicines and iron sheets to the mainland. It was his first contact with the mainland.

The iron sheets were used to make oil storage tanks. At the time, there was a shortage of oil in China, so the tanks were needed to store fuel imported from the Soviet Union, according to Fok's second son Ian Fok Chunwan, who assisted his father's business ventures on the mainland and is now CEO of the Henry Fok Ying Tung Group.

"My father had an innovative brain and good insight. He did things people had never done before, and he was humble in seeking other people's advice," Ian Fok recalled.

"After the liberation of Hong Kong, many people began flooding into the city. As the population surged, there were not enough homes, and that prompted him to invest in the property sector. In the old days, buildings were sold in entire blocks. But, after consulting lawyers, he decided to sell flats (apartments) one by one, even before they were completed, to solve people's housing needs. That's the system of pre-completed flats we have today."