Victor Zheng

Postcolonial border crossing: British skilled expatriates in post-1997 Hong Kong

Through a postcolonial lens and based on in-depth interviews with British expatriates who moved to Hong Kong in the first decade after its handover, this paper highlights the contested role of borders in the everyday making and remaking of skilled migration. It draws on Paasis (2003) definition of boundaries to denote that borders are not merely geographical lines but zones of mixing, blending and reconfiguring historically formed material connections, identities and power relations through which contemporary skilled mobility is constituted. The border crossing of skills in Hong Kong and elsewhere is a historically contingent phenomenon whose meaning derives not only from economic forces and social networking but also the accumulated history of the borders they cross. The notion of ‘postcolonial border crossing’ highlights the dis/continuity in skilled migration and integrates social, cultural and economic spheres into the same framework in interpreting skilled mobility.

Chinese family business, stock market and the Haiwankong financial network

This article attempts to examine the development of family businesses and stock markets in three greater China locations: Shanghai, Taiwan and Hong Kong. Of particular interest are the effects of public listing on the transformation of family businesses and the growth of economies through opening markets to private enterprises. First, a short history of the Shanghai, Taiwan and Hong Kong stock markets will be given. Then, their similarities and differences will be analysed. As the three markets have different characteristics, specializations and comparative advantages, a collaborative financial network of these three places – Haiwankong – is proposed that may further enhance their competitiveness on the global economic stage with special reference to the development of Europe from a highly divisive collection of states to a European Union under a single currency.

Contrasting the evolution of corporate governance models: A study of banking in Hong Kong

The sub-prime mortgage crisis, the bankruptcies of important US banks, and many originally family controlled enterprises coming under non-family, CEO-type leadership during the 2008 global credit crunch led many people to rethink the relationship between risk management and family businesses. One of the foci was on the doctrine of separation of ownership. This paper attempts to compare and examine the evolution of corporate governance in the banking business in Hong Kong by using two key financial institutions based there. By contrasting the evolution of corporate governance, management style and pattern of succession, we can see that although they developed under the same business environment and legal framework, the East-West business culture and ideology led them to choose different ownership structures and ways of succession, which ultimately determined their different developmental trajectories.

From Locodollar to Asianyuan: Hong Kong Dollar at a Crossroads

After re-pegging the Renminbi (RMB) from the US Dollar (USD) to a currency basket, the Hong Kong Dollar (HKD) is caught between the diverging Chinese and US economies. Disparity between the RMB and USD exchange rates and the HKD, and the disharmony of Chinese and US monetary policies towards Hong Kong have become increasingly acute. Hong Kong is at a crossroads. Should the HKD migrate from the dollar-zone to the renminbi-zone and realign with the national currency, and how? This paper analyses the mismatch and tries to answer the question.

The Impact of Cross-border Integration with Mainland China on Hong Kong's Local Politics: The Individual Visit Scheme as a Double-edged Sword for Political Trust in Hong Kong

Using official statistics and a pooled dataset of longitudinal surveys, the aim of this article is to examine the impact of the Individual Visit Scheme (IVS) on political trust in Hong Kong. Our multilevel analysis found that the gradual inflow of IVS visitors (mostly overnight visitors) increased political trust in the first few years, but that this trust rapidly diminished in later years, especially after the introduction of the one-year multiple-entry IVS endorsement (which attracted mostly same-day visitors). The main reason for the reduction in the positive impact of the IVS scheme is that the growth in the number of same-day visitors has contributed less to Hong Kongs economy than has the increase in the number of overnight visitors, and has exacerbated several social problems. The impact of mainland visitors has varied across groups with different levels of education. The political trust of people with a senior secondary education has been enhanced more by the increase in overnight visitors and reduced less by the increase in same-day visitors than that of people with a tertiary level of education or a junior secondary education or below.

Road to independence: Looking through the lens of women’s work, business and wills in early Hong Kong society

Purpose The paper aims to explore the road to independence of the less-fortunate women in early Hong Kong society and their means in passing of wealth after death. In the 1970s, about 400 Chinese wills from the 1840s to the 1940s were dug up on a construction site in Hong Kong. One-fourth of these were from women who had held a substantial amount of property. How they obtained this property intrigued us because, at that time, women were seen as subordinate to men and excluded from the labor market. Why they had wills led to further questions about Hong Kong society of that time and the role of women in it. Design/methodology/approach The analysis of this paper is based on archival data gathered from the Hong Kong Public Records Office. These data include 98 women’s wills filed from the 1840s to the 1940s and a 500-page government investigation report on the prostitution industry released in 1879. The former recorded valuable information of brief testators’ family and personal life history, amount of assets, and profolio of investment, etc. The latter included testimonials of brothel keepers and prostitutes and their life stories and the background of legalizing prostitution in early Hong Kong. Apart from basic quantitative analysis on women’s marital status, number of properties, nature of wills and number of brothels, qualitative analysis is directed to review the testator’s life of self-reliance, wealth accumulation and reasons of using wills for arranging wealth transmission after death. Findings In this paper, the authors found that because the colonial government declared prostitution legal, and only women could obtain employment by becoming prostitutes or brothel keepers, they earned their own livelihood, saved money and finally became independent. However, because these professions were not seen as “decent”, and these women were excluded from the formal marriage system, intestacy could cause problems for them. Through their socio-business connections, they became familiar with the Western concept of testate inheritance. So, they tended to use wills – a legal document by which a person assigns someone to distribute his or her property according to his or her wishes after his or her death – to assign their property. Research limitations/implications Because only archival data are chosen for analysis, the research results may lack generalizability. Follow-up researches to examine whether the studied women acquired their wealth through their own work or simply as gifts from others are required. Originality/value This paper explores the understudied women’s life and method of estate passing after death in the early Hong Kong society. It fills the academic gap of women’s contribution to Hong Kong’s success and enriches our understanding on the important factors that could attribute women’s real independence.

Competing for leadership and ownership: the Li & Fung Group’s legendary and strategy

Purpose The Li & Fung Group, a century-old, family-controlled multinational group of companies based in Hong Kong, seems to be an exception to the traditional perception of Chinese family business. The aim of this paper is to explore why this company can overcome the fatalism that “family business could not pass on over three generations”. Design/methodology/approach This paper will use in-depth case study as key methodology for exploring key research question of family business sustainability. Archival data, including company registration records, newspaper reports, biographical materials and company annual reports, etc., are major secondary data that will be used for qualitative analysis. Findings The important findings in this paper is that the authors can identify key ways for solving family conflict and business continuity. Through in-depth study, the authors argue that because Li & Fung can effectively adopt the “pruning the family tree” mechanism and “listing and de-listing” mechanism during critical stages of succession and development, it has flourished for over a century and is therefore a model for other Chinese family businesses to follow. Research limitations/implications Because the authors did not conduct personal interviews with the family members of the company, the authors do not have “insiders’ view” on the company development. Also, it is a century-old company, and many historical data cannot be obtained, so some of the developments would not be fully explained and understood. Practical implications It can let family business owners, staffs working in family business and professionals serving family business know better that although there are negative sides of family business, their positive sides should not be underestimated. If a proper mechanism can be rightly executed, its negative side could be large reduced, whereas its positive side could be better enhanced. Social implications This paper can offer insightful implication to the society that family business, in fact, is highly dynamic. It not only creates jobs by offering services and producing goods but stimulates economic development as family the fertile ground for breeding entrepreneurship. Originality/value There is no analysis in the academia in exploring the Li & Fung Group’s development from the perspective of leadership and ownership competition. So, the originality of this paper is very high.

Succession, division, and the drive for self-employment: the case of the renowned Hong Kong restaurant 'Yung Kee'

Since the practice of equal division of assets among sons (the equal inheritance system) is the institutional and cultural context of Chinese family businesses, the capital that has accumulated in the family property is continually diluted in the process of family division. This can obviously lead to strife. Academics have explored in depth the obstacles that this custom poses to the continued development of a business. However, these discussions have very seldom touched upon the equally pervasive positive aspects of this custom, which are brought about by division and competition. This paper uses the case of Yung Kee, a renowned restaurant in Hong Kong, to illustrate this under-studied area. In describing the development of the business, and the division and contention over the familys assets, we analyse the situation wherein no distinction is made between older and younger sons in the system of an equal division of property among the sons, and how this practice encourages the members of the family to develop their potential and compete with each other. From this process, we locate the source of the dynamism in Chinese family businesses - entrepreneurship, i.e. the strong drive for self-employment.

National/Regional Integration and Local Development

Macao’s gambling industry would not prosper without patrons from outside Macao’s borders. This was the case not only in the past, but remains true in the present and will remain true in the future. The attractiveness and competitiveness of Macao’s gambling industry not only depends on Macao’s gambling products, promotion strategy, transportation networks, and so on, but also on the gambling policies of its neighbours. To be specific, if gambling were to be made lawful in a close neighbour, for example Hong Kong or Guangdong province, Macao could suffer a tremendous decline in business. Since the policies of its neighbours are beyond Macao’s control, Macao’s top government officials must always keep in mind how to maintain a harmonious relationship with all of them—and must convince its neighbours, as well as the Beijing government, that it is in their interests not to make gambling lawful within their boundaries.

Macao and Globalization: A Gambling Perspective

Macao (in English spelling) or Macau (in Portuguese spelling) is situated on the coast of southern China or, to be specific, on the southwestern margin of the Pearl River Delta adjacent to Zhuhai, Guangdong province (Fig. 2.1). It is believed to be the first city in China to have been occupied by Europeans and also the first Chinese city to embrace globalization through the development of worldwide trading routes. In addition, Macao witnessed the earliest and longest-lasting encounters between China and the West, and is praised to this day as being a unique blend of Western culture and Chinese civilization. In a number of recent surveys on world cities, Macao ranked at the very top of the list in terms of per capita GDP and attractiveness to young artists (Clark and Moonen 2011, p. 45; Flavorwire 2011; McKinsey Global Institute 2011, p. 3). Whatever the indicator, it is certain that Macao is an extraordinary city that is worthy of more in-depth study.