Possible Buyer for O & Y Assets

Hong Kong property tycoon Li Ka-shing said Monday that he is interested in buying assets of Olympia & York Developments Ltd., the Canadian real estate company scrambling to pay its debts.

“We are interested in some of Olympia & York’s assets but we have not come up with any solid plans,” Li was quoted as saying in a statement. Li, reportedly worth nearly $3 billion, was unavailable for further comment.

O & Y, the world’s largest property developer, revealed last month it faced a liquidity crisis and has asked its major bank lenders to roll over any debt due for payment.

O & Y put off a meeting with 100 banks to renegotiate debts but eventually settled on April 13 as the date when it would open its books to creditors.

Li already has links with the Reichmann brothers, the publicity-shy family that owns O & Y. Last October, a firm controlled by Li’s family put $57.5 million into a joint venture with O & Y to renovate a New York building.

The official in Hong Kong said Li had not decided whether to make an investment privately or through his listed companies, Cheung Kong Holdings Ltd. or Hutchison Whampoa Ltd.

In 1991 Fortune magazine listed Li’s worth at $2.6 billion and said the companies he controls represent 15% of the value of the Hong Kong stock market.