16 February 2008

whither rule of law in hong kong?

i read an article on how David Li, one of hk's tycoons, was recently implicated for insider trading by the US securities and exchange commission. he apparently tipped off a close friend, Michael Leung Kai-hung, about the impending bid by Rupert Murdoch for Dow Jones, of which Li was a non-executive director. although criminal charges were not pursued, Li has agreed to pay a civil penalty of USD 8.1 million.

David Li is chairman and ceo of Bank of East Asia, as well as a member of the Executive Council. a letter has been written to hk's chief executive Donald Tsang, regarding the need for Li to resign. there seem to be suggestions that this will not happen; that such behaviour is common in hk, and rarely makes any political waves. i do not keep up with hk's financial news, but i find this indifferent and callous attitude to the law appalling. (even worse, this attitude is far from confined to finance and business..)

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Has your sense of injustice been righted by his resignation or do you feel that its too little too late?

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=aTyK.eY0uykc&refer=asia