Opinion | Opportunity knocks for Hong Kong to operate Asian infrastructure bank
Albert Cheng says chief executive should think big for SAR to grasp a golden opportunity to get back to centre stage as a global financial hub
China's initiative to launch the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has attracted more than 40 potential founding members. The New York Times calls it a stampede before the deadline.
The bank will have a start-up capital of US$100 billion. China has already committed half the amount for its answer to the Western- and Japan-dominated International Monetary Fund, World Bank and the Asian Development Bank.
President Xi Jinping has been harping on the theme of "the great renaissance of the Chinese nation" since he became the head of the Chinese Communist Party in 2012. The AIIB is instrumental in his ambitious master plan.
Since then, he has pledged to pump US$40 billion into his strategy for a New Silk Road economic belt. Under this idea of "One Belt, One Road", infrastructural networks are to be laid to better connect China with the rest of Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Europe. This has been a driving force behind the recent bullish activities in our stock exchange.
Xi wants the bank to accelerate developments in the region, which in turn will help Chinese state-owned enterprises assume a bigger role in the international arena. He is determined China steps out of the shadow of the US in the global economy and has close to US$4 trillion in foreign reserves at his disposal to make it work.
Xi's aggressive moves have presented a golden opportunity for Hong Kong, which has been increasingly sidelined on the world stage. China's finance ministry should, of course, call the shots in Beijing, while Hong Kong can be entrusted as the AIIB's operating centre - a win-win for the special administrative region and the nation.