SHIH Wing-ching, founder of Centaline Property, started his company 46 years ago with just a shared desk. Today, Centaline is a leading real estate agency household name, employing over 30,000 people across Hong Kong and Mainland China. His remarkable journey – from an aspiring young idealist to the architect of an industry giant – has earned him an honorary Doctorate of Business Administration from Hong Kong Shue Yan University.
In his interview with Shue Yan Newsletter, SHIH spoke with humility and introspection, admitting to “mixed feelings” about the honour. “I’m not someone who seeks out accolades,” he says, “but I’m honoured nonetheless.”
At 75, SHIH’s commitment to society’s well-being and relentless pursuit of knowledge resonates with Hong Kong Shue Yan University’s motto, “Cultivating virtues of benevolence; broadening horizon and knowledge”. Guided by Taoist philosophy, he views true goodness as empowering others to chart their own paths. “Human beings are naturally curious,” he reflects. “We’re born to question, and in seeking answers, we learn and broaden our knowledge.”
SHIH praises Shue Yan’s approach, which he says places students’ growth at the center of its mission, less bound by the constraints of conventional systems. He encourages the University to remain true to its founding vision and resist the pressures of chasing rankings or funding benchmarks alone.
A deep commitment to social justice marked SHIH’s early life. Just out of secondary school and not yet 20, he began teaching at a night school for workers, many of whom had missed out on formal education. He wanted to do more than pass on knowledge; he hoped to inspire them to advocate for their rights. He recalls a day when a student mistook his quiet walk home for something darker, even following him to ensure he was not contemplating self-harm. “Those were difficult, but fulfilling, days,” he smiles.
By 29, SHIH made a pivotal shift, co-founding Centaline Property with a partner and a modest investment of $5,000. In 2005, he expanded into media, launching the free newspaper am730, a platform for his perspectives on business and society.
Today, SHIH is as much an educator as he is an entrepreneur. He still teaches business and real estate management at local universities. In 2007, he founded the city’s first private primary school promoting affective nature education and autonomous learning. For SHIH, knowledge cannot be confined to textbooks. “Books come in two types,” he notes, “those written by people and those ‘heavenly books’ we experience in nature and society. School teaches the first, but true wisdom is in the latter.”
SHIH himself is a lifelong student. “My curiosity about the universe, my quest for truth—it has never stopped,” he says. He hopes young people will harness this same curiosity, equipping themselves to thrive in an ever-competitive world. However, he observes that many Hong Kong students “study to land a good job or gain diplomas” rather than out of a true hunger for knowledge. Learning, he insists, should be less about “model answers” and more about learning to ask questions. “If you can ask questions you don’t understand and pursue answers, then you’re truly learning,” he says.
He is pragmatic about the prospects of Hong Kong’s youth climbing the social ladder, noting that the opportunities available today, such as 12 years of free education, are far greater than in the past. “Don’t start making excuses for failure before you have even started trying,” he says.
While he has built his career from nothing, he urges young people to wait and jump into entrepreneurship. “Work for at least three years, build experience, and reach a management position first,” he advises. He warns that around 80% of new businesses fail within two years, and fewer than 5% survive beyond five years. A more measured approach, he suggests, can set a stronger foundation for success.
Yet, for all his success, SHIH remains remarkably modest. The pursuit of external appearances—fashion, cars, or other symbols of status, he says, only leads to a dead-end. He has committed all his shares in Centaline to his charitable foundation, disinterested in wealth for its own sake. “Money means little beyond a modest life,” he remarks, adding that the deepest fulfilment lies in “finding value in others”, such as through charitable work.
As for his guiding beliefs, SHIH quotes British philosopher Bertrand Russell: a longing for love, a pursuit of truth, and “an unbearable pity for the suffering of mankind.” He believes this is the essence of a meaningful life: “finding value in others, allowing life to extend infinitely.”
Citation: SHIH Wing-ching, Doctor of Business Administration, honoris causa
https://newsletter.hksyu.edu/en/citation-shih-wing-ching-doctor-of-business-administration-honoris-causa/