Opinion | A quick course on mechanics of a financial escape hatch
A leadership change is prime time for the mainland's new rich to study up on emergency preparations in case of an ill anti-corruption wind
Thanks to a leadership change with an anti-corruption spin, private bankers have been very busy lately.
Take, for example, veteran banker Erica, born and raised in Hong Kong. The former corporate banker has been serving old money for almost a decade. The mainland's new rich have been among her clientele, but never a particularly significant group.
She knew cash-rich mainlanders were eager to move their money to Hong Kong. Yet, finding a client was the last thing she expected in a doctoral programme.
Part-time doctoral courses are a growing business for major Chinese universities. Mainland entrepreneurs love them. A PhD makes them look more credible as a controlling shareholder on a listing prospectus. At 100,000 yuan (HK$123,600) a pop, it's bang for the buck.
But it's more than just vanity. These "students" are not interested in libraries and research. The prime attractions are visits to the Hong Kong stock exchange and meetings with regulators and bankers. They come to town for a few days every term to attend so-called "power meetings".
Erica is a speaker at such a programme. A year ago, she was addressing a group of 40 about the private banking industry in Hong Kong. In the coffee break, a forty-something man introduced himself as a factory owner from Guangxi, an economic backwater.