Already Endorsing Regina Ip

Regina Ip may be making her big announcement next Thursday

The race for the next Hong Kong Chief Executive hasn't officially started but it's already getting interesting.

Former Chief Secretary David Akers-Jones has thrown is support behind New People's Party chairwoman Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee even though she hasn't officially thrown her hat into the ring.

She apparently has plans to do so next Thursday at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.

David Akers-Jones already endorses Ip for Chief Executive

However, we have to remember that Akers-Jones backed Leung Chun-ying when he ran for the top job in 2012.

Last year Akers-Jones defended Leung's failure to to meet the target of building 85,000 flats a year during Tung Chee-hwa's administration because Leung was a cabinet advisor at the time.

Akers-Jones said Leung was "familiar with the problems of Hong Kong", but "doesn't have the art of making or causing people to love him".

How is that a good excuse?

It seems like no one in the Leung administration is familiar with the problems in Hong Kong at all -- they appear to be so far removed from the realities that average residents are going through -- depressed wages, high rents, inflation, losing jobs, crowded MTR trains and so on.

Over 500,000 people protested against Article 23 in 2003

That on top of the perceived collusion between government and developers, and nothing constructively being done about pollution, increasing waste, both construction and food, and then that big picture demand for democracy.

Is Ip the right woman for the job considering she was the security minister who tried to pass Article 23 and hundreds of thousands of people marched in the streets in July 2003, forcing her to back down?

She may think she has moved on, having studied in California and returned forming a new political party.

But we all know she's probably eager to finish off what she didn't get to complete 13 years earlier...

Akers-Jones doesn't seem to have a good track record of picking good candidates...

Advertorial Wedding

Angelababy wearing a Chaumet diamond tiara

French jeweller Chaumet is defying the bleak retail economy thanks to its sponsorship of the celebrity wedding between actors Angelababy and Huang Xiaoming in October last year.

On social media the bride showed off a six-carat, US$1.6 million wedding ring that was quickly dubbed the "Angelababy Ring" by millions of netizens.

The jewellery house has a long history of being the official jewellery to Emperor Napoleon I, making the crowns and ceremonial jewels for him and his wife Empress Josephine as well as other monarchs since the late 1700s. But it has lost out in terms of brand recognition, because well, you don't need a tiara everyday.

The infamous "Angelababy ring" with a six-carat diamond

Nevertheless, this massive wedding held at the Shanghai Exhibition Centre has hit the jackpot for Chaumet, says chief executive Jean-Marc Mansvelt.

He recalled the overwhelming response from Chinese clients for the Josephine Airgrett Imperiale ring, as well as for two antique diamond tiaras Angelababy wore at her wedding.

Mansvelt is quick to point out many shoppers flock to the Chaumet stores in Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and China, asking for the "Angelababy ring", but "it was not something that was originally designed for her," he says.

But do Chinese consumers care to know who Empress Josephine was?

And why should Mansvelt care anyway? He's seeing "more than double-digit growth" in revenue in greater China from its 20 boutiques on the mainland, five in Hong Kong and four in Taiwan.

There doesn't seem to be any thought about how over-the-top the wedding is, and how the bride and groom profited from the sponsorships and tie-ups with companies, pitching their stuff by wearing or using it.

No-frills couple Shu Qi and Stephen Fung

This contrasts starkly with the recent wedding of Taiwanese actress Shu Qi and Hong Kong-based actor and director Stephen Fung in September. She wore a pink dress from H&M given to her two years ago, and they didn't even have a wedding banquet.

Seems like you either do the full-on, with everything on top kind of wedding, or the other extreme of keeping it as plain as possible...

Tsang's Embarrassing U-Turn

John Tsang told Legco he would not answer questions from four pan-dems

Following the total takedown of two localist lawmakers, Yau Wai-ching and Sixtus Baggio Leung Chung-hang, the Hong Kong government is gunning for four more pan-democrats, but the lack of support has led to the Leung Chung-ying administration having to back down.

Yesterday Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah refused to take questions in the legislature from "Long Hair" Leung Kwok-hung, Nathan Law Kwun-chung, Edward Yiu Chung-yim and Lau Siu-lai, citing advice from lawyers to doubt their status as legislators.

Edward Yiu, Nathan Law, Leung Kwok-hung and Lau Siu-lai

The announcement stunned the Legislative Council panel meeting yesterday morning, drawing objections and concerns from all sides, as the High Court hasn't even started hearing the government's case for having the four kicked out of Legco.

Some pan-democrats accused Tsang of overstepping his bounds to impress Beijing following his earlier hint he may run for the top job next year.

But then by the afternoon, the government did a U-turn, when even the pro-establishment parties questioned the justification for shunning the four.

"The administration will address inquiries from all lawmakers without changing its legal stance over the four lawmakers," said Legco's House Committee chairwoman Starry Lee Wai-king, quoting Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor after a meeting with her.

Carrie Lam reversed the government's stance by the afternoon

Even Legco President Andrew Leung Kwan-yuen expressed surprise at Tsang's stance, saying the four should still be regarded as lawmakers until the court ruling. He said the government should stick to a letter he received from Lam that said public officers would only respond to questions from members who have "duly taken the Legco oath in accordance with the law".

It is understood that even Leung Chun-ying didn't know Tsang's position in the morning, though the finance minister said it was based on a collective decision of the government after legal advice was received on Sunday night.

Tsang later said he agreed with the reversed decision made by Lam and Lee.

What is going on? Is there no communication between officials on their position on things? And where are they getting their legal advice from? Sounds childish not to respond to any lawmakers' inquiries, even if you plan to launch a suit against them. Did no one bring up this point during the meeting on Sunday evening?

Many critics are saying Leung Chun-ying is pushing his luck in trying to unseat four more legislators -- what have they legally done wrong? They seem completely mild mannered compared to two young people who swore and promoted independence while taking their oaths...

In any case, perhaps the cracks are even more prevalent in the Leung administration, where at least one, maybe two officials are gunning for their boss' job in 2017...

HK's Financial Market Closer to China

The opening ceremony of the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect today

Another sign Hong Kong is moving closer to the mainland -- today was the launch of the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect, where Hong Kong investors can buy mainland stocks and vice versa.

Foreigners will now have access to trading the stocks of almost 900 firms. According to the World Federation of Exchanges data, Shenzhen is Asia's busiest stock exchange, with a monthly turnover of over US$1 trillion.

The link was supposed to be launched last year, but was delayed due to mainland market volatility.

Hong Kong will benefit from stock trades going both ways

However, the first day of trading was considered rather muted, using only 21 percent of its daily northbound quota. It also failed to boost the Hang Seng index that dropped 0.26 percent due to overseas market volatility.

At the opening ceremony, Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying said: "This will strengthen Hong Kong as a super-connector between the world and the mainland. This will also enhance Hong Kong's role as an offshore yuan trading hub."

Two years ago the Shanghai-Hong Kong Connect link was launched, and Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing chief Charles Li Xiaojia said today was a new milestone.

"If Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect is a first baby step, the Shenzhen-Hong Kong is the second. Now we can walk, and then we can run," he said.

Foreign investors have access to almost 900 Chinese firms

While the link gives foreign investors access to mainland companies, it also benefits mainland investors looking to park their money outside of China. But surely many are savvy enough to know that having their stock trades watched is not the best way to transfer their money elsewhere.

So, it looks like whether we like it or not, our financial markets are becoming physically closer, offering a way for some people to launder their money, and for foreign investors who haven't done their due diligence to increase their chances of losing money on companies that are possibly not above board.

Perhaps that's why the response wasn't that enthusiastic today?

Time will tell.