HK Rejects Gloom After Ex-Morgan Stanley Chair Renews Claim City Is ‘Over’

Skip to Content News Archives Economy Energy Oil & Gas Renewables Electric Vehicles Mining Commodities Agriculture Real Estate Mortgages Mortgage Rates Finance Banking Insurance Fintech Cryptocurrency Work Wealth Smart Money Wealth Management Investor Personal Finance Family Finance Retirement Taxes High Net Worth FP Comment Executive Women Puzzmo Newsletters Financial Times Business Essentials More Innovation Information Technology FP500 Podcasts Small Business Lives Told Tails Told Shopping Financial Post Store Obituaries Place a Notice Advertising Advertising With Us Advertising Solutions Postmedia Ad Manager Sponsorship Requests Classifieds Place a Classifieds ad Working Profile Settings My Subscriptions Saved Articles My Offers Newsletters Customer Service FAQ News Economy Energy Mining Real Estate Finance Work Wealth Investor FP Comment Executive Women Puzzmo Newsletters Financial Times Business Essentials This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.HomePMN BusinessHK Rejects Gloom After Ex-Morgan Stanley Chair Renews Claim City Is 'Over'Former Morgan Stanley Asia Chairman Stephen Roach has revived a debate over whether Hong Kong’s recovery demonstrates its enduring international appeal or a growing dependence on mainland China, prompting an apparent rebuttal from a senior official.Author of the article: You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account.qsfho)9um])vgvpe0}o2ub7b_media_dl_2.png Hong Kong Census and Statistics(Bloomberg) — Former Morgan Stanley Asia Chairman Stephen Roach has revived a debate over whether Hong Kong’s recovery demonstrates its enduring international appeal or a growing dependence on mainland China, prompting an apparent rebuttal from a senior official.THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLYSubscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Exclusive articles from Barbara Shecter, Joe O'Connor, Gabriel Friedman, and others.Daily content from Financial Times, the world's leading global business publication.Unlimited online access to read articles from Financial Post, National Post and 15 news sites across Canada with one account.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLESSubscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Exclusive articles from Barbara Shecter, Joe O'Connor, Gabriel Friedman and others.Daily content from Financial Times, the world's leading global business publication.Unlimited online access to read articles from Financial Post, National Post and 15 news sites across Canada with one account.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLESCreate an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountThe economist, who declared in a controversial column in 2024 that Hong Kong was finished, argued in a new piece last week that Beijing’s “hostile takeover” of the city in recent years has transformed it into “just another big Chinese city.” It’s changed so much under Beijing’s rule that Roach said it might better be called by its Mandarin name.“Today, its Mandarin name, Xianggang (fragrant harbor), which celebrates the city’s pre-colonial Chinese heritage, seems more apt than Hong Kong, a phonetic translation from Cantonese,” he wrote in a column published by Project Syndicate last Thursday.Get the latest headlines, breaking news and columns.By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.The next issue of Top Stories will soon be in your inbox.We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try againThe commentary said Hong Kong’s recent resilience had come to depend on direct intervention by mainland authorities. China’s stock-market stimulus in September 2024 helped lift equities and unleash a wave of Chinese listings steered toward Hong Kong, according to Roach, who’s now senior fellow at Yale Law School’s Paul Tsai China Center.It didn’t take long for a prominent city official to try to counter the pessimism about the financial hub.Hong Kong Acting Financial Secretary Michael Wong, in a piece published Wednesday by Sing Tao Daily, said recent media coverage had painted an excessively bleak picture of the city’s outlook. He didn’t single out Roach or any other commentator.“Some media commentaries have recently sought to paint an overly pessimistic picture of Hong Kong’s future, ignoring our city’s extraordinary resilience and vitality and turning a blind eye to the immense opportunities that continue to emerge,” Wong wrote. He cited Hong Kong’s free and open business environment, common-law system and free flows of information and capital, as well as its role as a “super-connector” between China and the rest of the world.“Facts speak louder than words,” Wong wrote, pointing to a rebound in economic growth, trade and financial markets.Indeed, Hong Kong’s economy staged a powerful comeback last year, expanding at its fastest pace since 2021 on resilient trade and a resurgence in investment. The momentum has continued this year despite a global energy crisis unleashed by the war in Iran, thanks to an insatiable global demand for artificial intelligence.Data due Friday is expected to show the city’s ecoonomy grew 4.9% in the second quarter from a year earlier, according to a Bloomberg survey of economists, moderating from 5.9% in the first three months of 2026.The city’s market for initial public offerings has also revived. Eighty-seven companies raised HK$210.2 billion ($26.8 billion) in the first half, almost twice the amount a year earlier, Wong said. More than 500 listing applications were being processed at the end of June.This advertisement has not loaded yet.This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.Yet Roach argued that those figures supported his case. Hong Kong’s return as a leading fundraising venue was powered largely by mainland companies, he said, making the city “less a thriving global IPO market than a major platform for Chinese issuers.”Roach also said the city’s rule of law and press freedom had been severely compromised. He cited Beijing’s imposition of a national security law in 2020, Hong Kong’s passage of separate security legislation under Article 23 four years later and the departure of foreign judges from the city’s top court. The city’s leader, Chief Executive John Lee, has argued that the national security laws helped restore prosperity and stability to the former British colony after years of unrest and “sabotage by anti-China agitators in Hong Kong and external forces.” The government said the absence of individual judges won’t undermine its efforts to uphold the rule of law.The veteran economist also lamented what he described as Hong Kong’s changing workforce and language of daily life, citing a significant outflow of expats and a surge of Chinese workers from the mainland.“Taken together, this represents a fundamental transformation in Hong Kong’s character,” he wrote. Roach first waded into the debate over the city’s future in 2024 with a column in the Financial Times entitled “It pains me to say Hong Kong is over.” At the time he argued that China’s slowdown would increasingly weigh on Hong Kong, the city was caught between Washington and Beijing, and the national security law had undermined its political autonomy.A year later, Roach revised his view in an interview with Bloomberg TV, saying it was too early to declare Hong Kong was over. He said the city was being reinvigorated by US-China tensions because of its unique position as China’s most important window to international finance — something he didn’t anticipate when he penned the 2024 column.His latest piece nevertheless returned to his original conclusion, albeit with a distinction.“The Hong Kong of old is, indeed, over,” he wrote. “Go to Xianggang and see for yourself.”—With assistance from Phila Siu and Dave Sebastian.(Updates with expected GDP release.)Notice for the Postmedia NetworkThis website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.