WITH the rugged terrain of Hong Kong island as its backdrop, the view from Richard Li's office is something of a distraction. But this week nothing was going to draw attention away from the man inside it. For the 40-year-old chairman of PCCW, the world's leading supplier of internet television, the last six months have been as dramatic as any of the programmes served up to his customers. "I am very positive about the future,'' he said, flashing his trademark grin.

The future is not a new agenda for Li. Whether it was the pioneering launch of PCCW's broadband TV service in 2003, or his incessant quest to escape the vast shadow of his father, Li Ka-shing, the younger man has rarely paused for breath.

There are few excuses for him to begin doing so now. Nine days ago came a further twist to the corporate theatre that has gripped the Hong Kong public and China's policy-makers alike; Li's plan to sell a controlling 23pc stake in PCCW was scuppered by minority shareholders in Pacific Century Regional Development (PCRD), his Singapore-listed holding company.

By the end, the result was hardly a surprise. A deal led by the Hong Kong banker Francis Leung that would allow China Netcom, one of the major state-owned telecom companies, to become the largest individual shareholder in PCCW, should, in theory, have been plain sailing.

But Li had reckoned without the reappearance of that shadow. When it emerged that a charitable trust headed by Li Ka-shing was involved in financing the takeover, the Singapore stock exchange barred Richard Li from voting the 75pc stake held by PCRD. Intriguingly, when Li discovered his father's role, he is said to have claimed he would not be unhappy if the vote went against him.

Friends of the younger Li say he has not discussed business with his father for six years. The two men compete with one another in the telecoms industry (Hutchison Whampoa, the conglomerate headed by Li Ka-shing, owns the 3 third-generation mobile phone business) and both have extensive property interests.

"There is no feud between them,'' claimed one person close to Richard Li last night. "They have worked things out.''

Remarkably, last week's vote in Singapore was not the first time this year that Li's plans to exit PCCW had failed. During the summer, a proposal to off-load the company's main operating assets to Macquarie and the Asian unit of private-equity house Texas Pacific Group for $6.4bn ( pounds 3.3bn) was blocked by China Netcom's parent. The reason? China viewed PCCW as a strategic asset that should be owned by Hong Kong-based investors. Protectionist instincts remain strong in Beijing.

Now, Li is keen to put the entire saga behind him. The future, once more, is his priority. While analysts fret about PCCW's growth prospects, and its chairman's relationship with his second-biggest shareholder, China Netcom, Li is bullish about the "quad-play'' that the likes of NTL in Britain are only just beginning to get their heads around. Neither had it escaped his notice that on the same day he was reflecting on PCCW's potential, BT was unveiling BT Vision, its grand entrance into the television industry.

"It is clear that some people got into the idea of convergence too early, but equally it is clear that some are getting out of it too early,'' he said. "There is a familiar saying that technology takes longer than expected to work but when it does, it is more far-reaching than expected.''

The previous evening, Li had spent time at home browsing online for new cars. "A few years ago, you would read about a car in a magazine. Then along came Google and you could look for the exact information you wanted. Now you can see them for yourself on YouTube,'' he said, clearly excited at the way technology is broadening horizons for consumers.

Li is full of admiration for the way that the likes of Google, Skype and Yahoo have constructed profitable business models. He expects Now, his pay-TV operation, to follow them into the black next year and at the same time become Hong Kong's biggest pay-TV operator. With a hefty bill to service for the rights to English Premiership football, he needs that expectation to become reality.

From next season, subscribers will be able to watch as many as 380 games on their PCs and mobile phones. The football will join a package of channels that includes National Geographic, ESPN, Sky News and the Disney Channel.

Li is also focused on growing PCCW's mobile phone business, Sunday, following a succession of deals that saw him make a handsome profit on previous investments in the sector. And he is looking overseas at possible investments. PCCW has a small internet business in Britain, but Li has bigger ambitions for the company than this. "We are looking at investing outside Hong Kong. We will make a decision in the coming year,'' he said. "There will be higher than 100pc [broadband] penetration in some Asian markets.''

It may have been that optimism that led Li to raise his stake in PCCW three times since the proposal to sell was thrown out. After this week's raids on the market, Li now owns more than 27pc of PCCW. He also increased his stake in PCRD. But rather than a vote of confidence in PCCW's prospects, analysts labelled the purchases an attempt to tighten his grip on the company. In some parts of the Chinese media, there has been speculation that China Netcom could try to force Li out.

He insists they are committed to making their partnership work, although he admits: "I am sure Netcom and ourselves need a bit of a breather.'' It is hard to imagine him taking one of those. Among his other projects is his 50pc stake in the Hong Kong Economic Journal, which has already proved something of a headache; some people have said Li may have broken media ownership restrictions because of his PCCW shareholding. And tomorrow , Li will learn the fate of his political aspirations when he stands for election to the committee of 600 people who will choose Hong Kong's next chief executive.

For a man who can often appear shy, Li's profile is certainly not in need of a boost. At a telecoms industry conference in Hong Kong earlier this week, he was introduced to an expectant audience as "the man of the hour''. And as he stepped down from the stage and slipped through a back door to make his exit, scores of people sprinted around the arena to try and catch a closer glimpse. Like it or not, the son of Li Ka-shing will not be escaping the limelight any time soon.

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