Inca,

You wrote:

"Shangri la hotels are owned by the kuok family,who have very strong ties with the noble group"

You are absolutely right.

Also, interesting is this juicy morsel .... from 2010:

When you start googling Li Ka-shing, Hutchison Whampoa, Robert Kuok(founder Shangri-la), Noble group, TPG capital.....

They all know eachother and have had business dealings with eachother.

..and you get Irwin moving into...Shangri-la...

http://news.ontario.ca/opo/en/2010/11/investment-chromite-top-agenda-for-premier-in-hong-kong.html

Investment, Chromite Top Agenda For Premier In Hong Kong

McGuinty Meets with Chairman Li Ka-shing and CEO Eric Huang

Leaders from Hong Kong's business community met Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty and ministers Sandra Pupatello and Michael Chan to discuss investment opportunities in Ontario.

Premier McGuinty spoke at a reception hosted by the Canada-Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce. Guests included leaders in mining and financial services. McGuinty credited Ontario's strong financial services sector for helping it weather the global recession better than most other economies. He also talked about the government's plans to develop the Ring of Fire, an area in Northern Ontario that contains one of the world's largest chromite deposits.

Earlier, Premier McGuinty met with Li Ka-shing, Chairman of Cheung Kong Limited and Hutchison Whampoa. The Premier and Mr. Li discussed Ontario as a growing North American location for new investment and trade. McGuinty also met with Eric Huang, CEO of CITIC Merchant Bank