https://www.scmp.com/rss/516550/feed Sanjeev Aaron Williams is a lawyer in Hong Kong who writes about geopolitics and the digital economy. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Welcome to the multipolar interpretation of “Go West”, an idea perhaps most popularly expressed by the Village People. Instead of ending up on shores lapped by the Atlantic, many are heading for the sands of Arabia. “Superconnector” Hong Kong’s pivot to West Asia not only shows geopolitical boldness but is calculated to strengthen the city’s position as a financial and digital entrepot. While Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po has acknowledged that the slowing global economy faces the triple... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3244853/superconnector-hong-kong-has-us-firmly-its-sights-pivot-middle-east?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3244853/superconnector-hong-kong-has-us-firmly-its-sights-pivot-middle-east?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 14 Dec 2023 01:30:17 +0000 Sanjeev Aaron Williams Sanjeev Aaron Williams Last year’s cryptocurrency winter had Hong Kong regulators rightly congratulating themselves. An abundance of initial caution and incremental approaches since 2017 to formulate a regulatory regime for cryptocurrency trading meant the city dodged a reputational bullet. FTX was based here, got annoyed with our perceived tardiness, dabbled in regulatory arbitrage and fled to the Bahamas in 2021, where it subsequently imploded to unveil a monumental fraud. Singapore’s reputation was smeared, after... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3238399/lessons-jpex-hong-kongs-cryptocurrency-retail-investors-must-be-better-protected?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3238399/lessons-jpex-hong-kongs-cryptocurrency-retail-investors-must-be-better-protected?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 21 Oct 2023 21:30:12 +0000 The bromance between Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is deepening. Kim’s recent trip to the space port at the vast Vostochny Cosmodrome in the Russian Far East was a tactical Russian invitation guaranteed to annoy the US. Russia’s scheduling was perfect: the meeting came after it hosted the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, which Kim attended, and the G20 summit in New Delhi, which Putin skipped. On this rare foreign trip, Kim made an unequivocal... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3235112/asia-faces-stark-choices-kim-putin-bromance-blossoms?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3235112/asia-faces-stark-choices-kim-putin-bromance-blossoms?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 20 Sep 2023 12:30:15 +0000 The Brics summit in South Africa made it clear that de-dollarisation and expansion of the grouping of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa are inevitable. Six additional countries will become part of Brics from January next year and dozens of countries are reportedly interested in joining. When Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates join Brics next year, which is also a US presidential election year, we could see steps towards the unravelling of the petrodollar. The summit... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3232983/can-expanding-brics-really-offer-persuasive-alternative-us-dollar?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3232983/can-expanding-brics-really-offer-persuasive-alternative-us-dollar?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 01 Sep 2023 11:30:11 +0000