HONG KONG - Is Hong Kong tycoon Richard Li dating a 23-year-old TVB starlet?

Karmen Kwok, the second runner-up in last year's Miss Hong Kong contest and host of TVB's talk-show Scoop, was identified on Wednesday as his latest girlfriend.

She was the mystery woman snapped with him in Tokyo in a video taken on Valentine's Day, Apple Daily said.

Mr Li, chairman of telecommunications group PCCW and billionaire son of tycoon Li Ka Shing, is arguably the most eligible bachelor in Hong Kong.

He is usually seen openly with the women he dates.

But, on Feb 14, he and a long-haired woman were caught on video playing a slot car race in Tokyo, both appearing to keep things low key by wearing facial masks.

A reader who submitted the video, which appeared on Apple Daily's website on Feb 14, said Mr Li , 49, held her hand at one stage. But Mr Li at that time brushed off queries about the relationship.

On Wednesday, the businessman neither admitted nor denied his alleged romance with Kwok, telling Apple by text: "Work has been very busy lately. I do not want to talk about romance matters."

The two have dated for eight months, said Apple, during which Kwok has been chauffeured to and from work and receiving presents such as flowers. A photo on her Instagram account showed Kwok, who made her drama series debut in ICAC Investigators 2016, enjoying herself on a yacht.

Mr Li broke off with actress Isabella Leong in 2011. She bore him three sons.