(Yicai Global) Nov. 29 – The Li Ka Shing Foundation (LKSF) founded by Li Ka-shing, Hong Kong richest person, has rebuffed rumors of its withdrawal from Shantou University and says it will donate another USD303 million (CNY2 billion) within the next eight years to develop the university jointly with Guangdong province.

An internet rumor that swirled yesterday claimed LKSF had delisted from the Foundation Office of Shantou University, since the two sides held differing views on whether to fund colleges directly or via the university. 

An LKSF spokesman dismissed the rumor as utterly incomprehensible, and said the foundation had moved to Shenzhen after merging its multiple offices in mainland China per the latest regulations on outbound charity organizations issued in China this year, Nanfang Daily reported today.

Shantou University is a public institution China's education ministry, the Guangdong provincial government and the LKSF jointly founded in 1981. It is the only such establishment that runs on sustainable funding from private foundations worldwide. It expects the cumulative amount of funds LKSF has thitherto bestowed on it to exceed HKD8 billion (USD1 billion) next year.

Founded in 1980, LKSF supports educational and medical projects, with its donations to these thus far topping HKD20 billion. Its projects span 27 countries and regions across the world, with over 80 percent in Greater China.