Mr. Shangkong | What does Starbucks say of your status?

It's an open secret in Hong Kong's business community that many of the best ideas and biggest decisions come together over a cup of coffee rather than behind the closed doors of well-appointed boardrooms around town.

Maybe that's partly because a lot of banks and asset-management firms, even some big names such as the large global hedge fund's premises I visited recently, haven't stretched their budgets far enough to provide sufficient meeting space in their high-rent premises. They prefer, instead, to make use of someone else's space, say a coffee shop with a buzzy atmosphere as opposed to a small conference room with four walls and no window.

So, when the money men meet their clients, they choose among the financial district's coffee shops, and where they end up speaks volumes about where the client ranks.

At Exchange Square in Central, there are two popular options in this complex that houses several banks and wealth-management firms: a branch of Starbucks, and the pricier Classified.

Some industry insiders say Starbucks is often occupied by junior, associate-level bankers conferring with clients who aren't considered rich enough to produce big deals.

"Starbucks coffee won't cost you too much and it's a comfortable place to start a casual chat with a client," said one of my contacts who works for a European bank in Exchange Square and uses the coffee house for "get-to-know" meetings.

More senior banking and fund industry workers - particularly those whose name card has "vice-president" on it - patronise Classified and are happy to shell out for their prospective clients.