A view from the roof of the world

Like the metal he trades, Law Kai-yee has made a habit of scaling new peaks. And fittingly for the son of a tram driver who has climbed the social and corporate ladder to become one of the city's most eminent gold traders, he has now mounted the biggest bump of them all.

In his dapper suit, the 52-year-old deputy general manager of Hantec Pacific and supervisory committee member of The Chinese Gold & Silver Exchange Society, looks no different from any other Central executive, except that he is now a legend in the white-collar community after planting the flag of the exchange on the summit of Mount Everest last month to mark the exchange's centenary.

'There're a lot of similarities to gold trading and mountaineering,' he said. 'Both need hard work, discipline, and passion. There are also differences. When you make a mistake in investment, you lose money. When you make a mistake in mountain climbing, you lose your life.'

Law embarked on a 46-day expedition to Everest on April 8 with two fellow Hongkongers as part of a 10-member Chinese team. All three, together with five others in the team, reached the summit and stayed there for 20 minutes.

'It was amazing. You immediately know you are on the highest point of the world, everything is below you,' recounted Law of that magic moment.

While he was away chasing snowy heights, gold hit as many as 14 new record highs in those 46 days. It reached its latest record on April 29, at US$1,538.80 per ounce, and was hovering around US$1,512 on May 20, the day Law made it to the top.