Kee, the Hong Kong billionaire known as “Asia’s Warren Buffett” and whose business empire included real estate, utilities and public infrastructure, has died. He was 97.

Hong Kong property magnate Lee Shau Kee, one of the city’s richest men, died on Monday at the age of 97, Henderson Land, the group that he founded, said in a statement.

Lee Shau Kee was among the first generation of entrepreneurs in Hong Kong who started making a fortune from property development between the 60s and 70s.

Hong Kong’s leader says his government opposes coercion by foreign governments, an allusion to comments by U.S. President Donald Trump, but stopped short of criticizing a prominent local conglomerate’s decision to sell its Panama Canal port assets to a consortium including American investment bank BlackRock Inc.

Hong Kong leader John Lee on Tuesday said criticism of city conglomerate CK Hutchison's sale of its Panama Canal ports deserved "serious attention", after Beijing authorities repeatedly slammed the deal.