For completing in just seven months perhaps the most complex projects undertaken in financial markets since the launch of the euro, banks might expect to be rewarded. But the disruption expected to follow the opening today of the first trading link between Shanghai and Hong Kong makes it unlikely that everyone will be a winner.
“It’s like someone threw a bundle of money in the air and everyone is scrabbling to pick up some of the notes before someone else does,” said Keith Pogson, head of the Asia financial services practice for EY.
There has been a rush to align systems, capture clients, clarify rules, navigate long-running tax disputes and resolve legal conundrums before the launch.