Maybe it was inevitable, perhaps we should be outraged but the sale of corporate Hong Kong to the mainland is all but done. The commanding heights of the economy have slipped effortlessly into China's grasp during a frantic 15 months of deal making with only murmurs of discontent.
That Hong Kong's colonial hongs, with opium peddling antecedents, would have their forbears' sins easily forgiven was always unlikely. That so many key industries would end up controlled by Beijing was not expected.
The full impact has yet to be played out. Should cronyism and palm greasing become the business standard Hong Kong's economy will inevitably die a slow withering death. Business by guanxi is a way of life in China. Introduced here it can only alienate international firms, damaging the economy.
To date the game plan has run like clockwork. Mainland-controlled firms bought into key - largely British-controlled - firms at deep discounts to prevailing market prices.
In a brilliant financial finesse companies are being re-packaged to sell on to international investors at big premiums. Foreigners, desperate for exposure to China, are ready to believe that under mainland control preferential contracts will go the way of these firms.
Being the first to go, Beijing's strategy is most clearly seen with the airlines. Citic Pacific gradually increased its stake in Cathay Pacific, eventually pushing it to 25 per cent. After much sabre rattling about establishing a rival Hong Kong airline, China National Aviation Corporation forced a 35.86 per cent purchase in Dragon Air from Swire Pacific.
Shortly after Dragon Air received a raft of hugely profitable routes into the mainland. The airline is reckoned so profitable that listing plans on the Hong Kong exchange have been delayed to the detriment of minority shareholders including Swire Pacific and Cathay Pacific.
