David Lidid not make it into all of the press photos when Xi Jinping sat down with a 70-strong Hong Kong business delegation in Beijing last month – just days before students protested on Hong Kong’s streets calling for democracy. But the placing of the chairman of the Bank of East Asia just eight places from China’s leader at the Beijing meeting is proof of the power of relationships, as well as money, in China.
Between Mr Xi and Mr Li sat tycoons representing some $100bn in wealth, including Li Ka-shing and Lee Shau-kee, numbers one and three on Asia rich lists with about $50bn between them. David Li’s $1.8bn, as estimated by Forbes, is not in the same league. However, Mr Li is perhaps the ultimate relationship banker, and his bank is testament to that.
In theory BEA is a juicy takeover target in Hong Kong where most independent banks have already been snapped up by bigger players keen on their hefty dollar-pegged deposits. It has a market capitalisation of $9bn and possesses a valuable China network.