Shui On’s Vincent Lo Hong-sui is preparing to take a step back, now that he has set the stage for his chosen candidate to the chief executive’s office.

Vincent Lo Hong-sui has found "the one".

Yes, the world knows about his wife Loletta Chu Ling-ling, who had been a media darling since she won the 1977 Hong Kong Beauty Pageant. But, as the head of Shui On Group was keen to tell The PEAK, he has now also found “the one’’ who would take over his legacy.

The legacy that he had started back in 1971 (at the humble age of 23) on a HK$100,000 loan from his father, property tycoon Lo Ying-shek. The legacy that has seen a whole lot of ups, via the wildly successful Shanghai Xintiandi development and his priceless relationships developped on the motherland, as well as a few downs in the likes of the 2008 financial crisis that led to drastic sales drops and concerns about debt repayment. The legacy, in short, known as Shui On.

Lo, the chairman and chief executive of Shui On Land, Shui On Construction and Materials, and Shui On Holdings, which together form the Shui On Group, is just about ready to pass on the torch. The 19th richest person in Hong Kong (according to Forbes), who over the years had earned the nicknames Mr. Shanghai and King of Guanxi (for his close connections with mainland officials), has, in recent times, managed to steer his company back from the brink in the wake of the financial crisis.

In his first public remarks in Hong Kong, the new US Consul-General held aloft the democracy banner encouraging dialogue, but in an unrelated development, days after his comments aired, the debate about political reforms intensified.

Most countries that have been colonised, view the clarion call for this ideal called democracy with some degree of suspicion, having endured anything but freedoms under empire builders who boldly looted their cultural heritage, sold their precious commodities, trafficked slaves and then left them with nothing but withered loyalists wearing feathered hats, ceremonial swords and adornments presented by monarchs for their unquestioning servitude. As for governance, the colonised – now free – would be left to their own devices, or encouraged to build on the ruins of “institutions’’ that served colonial interests. A little advice would be available along with a foreign aid drip.

Colonised Hong Kong evolved along similar lines, except that it could not have its independence. But after a 150-year slumber, the last Governor Chris Patten, aka Fei Pang, came to Government House to shake up the politics of the city. The people of Hong Kong had no say in this appointee, a portly politician who had been rejected by his own voters in Bath but sought to set afire the democracy flame as the colonial sun was setting in an outpost where there was neither any rights legislation, nor a Supreme Court.

Young professionals willing to spare a few moments of their time could seek out community engagements through organisations that facilitate volunteering.

We all know of the tough work ethic that defines the lives of Hongkongers, where long working days are a given, and vacations are a true luxury.

And so it is encouraging to learn that beyond office hours, many professionals go out of their way to serve the community, as evidenced by a growing popularity of short-term charity projects across the city. These projects (ranging from beach clean-ups, to making handicrafts, to teaching English) are being made possible through third parties such as Hands On Hong Kong and BEAN Hong Kong. The projects are designed to be easy to join and require minimal commitment – all of which are attractive selling points for the perpetually time-constrained.

Hands On Hong Kong founder Shaun Bernier, who started her volunteer recruitment and liaison platform to serve the city's charities by supplying them with a steady stream of volunteers and relieving their burden of managing individual projects themselves, acknowledges that her organisation specifically targets young professionals.