Franklin Lam's nose for a deal leads to a whiff of trouble

Formerly a star investment analyst known for his accurate predictions, Franklin Lam was apparently unable to foresee that his political career - or at least the first chapter of it - would be so short.

Lam took leave of absence from the Executive Council last November after coming under investigation by the Independent Commission Against Corruption over allegations that he took advantage of government inside information when selling flats, from which he reportedly made more than HK$10 million.

That was a mere four months after he was appointed by Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying to his quasi-cabinet as an adviser.

Lam was cleared by the ICAC yesterday and the Department of Justice said there was insufficient evidence to press charges. Lam also quit the Executive Council.

Before trying his hand at politics, Lam, UBS' former Hong Kong head of equities, spent 15 years in management roles, having joined the Swiss banking giant in 1997 as its head of regional property.

He was a member of the government think-tank the Central Policy Unit during the Asian financial crisis.

In 2011, he left UBS to set up HKGolden50, a public policy think tank. HKGolden50's report on Hong Kong's "golden five years" of growth caught the eye of Leung, who invited him to join the Exco.