Financial face-off awakens dozers

Whoa, what an eye-opening discussion!

It was astounding to hear how Executive Council member Joseph Yam Chi-kwong interrupted Secretary of Financial Services and the Treasury Christopher Hui Ching-yu with a rather casual "sorry" before saying how the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and other local financial authorities should have been more aggressive in making suggestions to Beijing on how to speed up the internationalization of the yuan.

Not just that: the former HKMA chief was also ready to share his thoughts on crypto currencies. In summary, they are not his cup of tea.

Frankly, views shared at the forum organized by the Hong Kong Economic Journal to mark its 50th anniversary were rather familiar to the local audience.

It is well known that Yam has been very keen to push for the yuan to internationalize and wrote a lengthy article about it recently.

While the approach has been from down to the top, he is of the view that it should have been "top down."

He believes a top-down approach would give the yuan's internationalization a greater push. In other words, Hong Kong - as the world's most important offshore clearing center for the yuan - has been too slow in this respect.

In respect of cryptos, Hong Kong's ambition became globally known after the Financial Times reported that the HKMA had lectured HSBC, Standard Chartered and other banks on how they should provide banking services to crypto exchanges - even if they had not yet received a license from the city's Securities and Futures Commission.

The audience may have dozed off as Hui reiterated the official line of developing a regulatory framework for cryptos, but it was sharply awoken by the conflicting views of the two leading financial figures.

To be fair to Yue, it was rather impolite of Yam to interrupt him and later tell the audience that, when he "started reading HKEJ, Yue wasn't born yet."

Perhaps it was due to his senior age - 74 - that Yam felt privileged enough to be so forthcoming with the blunt comments that others may have tried to state in a more subtle manner.

Turning to the idea of making Hong Kong a crypto hub - it is also not the cup of tea of many people in Hong Kong, especially after Tyler Winklevoss, of crypto exchange Gemini, tweeted to declare he had a "great meeting" with Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission and that "Hong Kong is ready to lead in crypto."

A pertinent question is that, as officials of Hong Kong's SFC had a "great meeting" with Winklevoss, did they know his Gemini was being sued by the US Securities and Exchanges Commission?

Also, as the HKMA demanded HSBC, Standard Chartered and other banks to serve crypto operators that may not be even licensed yet, could it knowingly put these banks in the firing line as US regulators crack down on crypto exchanges?

The face-off on the stage was perhaps the most exciting part of the day.