“Hong Kong is like a tropical plant,” mused a contemplative banker to the Financial Times 30 years ago. He went on to explain: “If you dig about at the roots too much, it will just wither and die.”
The city’s financial professionals have always liked a flowery turn of phrase — just as they like to warn about the threat posed by overzealous regulators to Hong Kong’s financial power. That heft is still heavily based on its stock market, however hard it tries to diversify.
One of the issues preoccupying the 1987 horticulturalist was that of dual-class shares. At the time, regulators were debating a bold bid by the likes of Jardine Matheson and tycoon Li Ka-shing to introduce them via a loophole. Back then the officials stood up to the corporate titans and blocked the attempt. They did it again in 2013 when Alibaba opted not to list in the city because the tech giant’s governance did not adhere to Hong Kong’s strong rules requiring one share, one vote.