Hong Kong’s tycoons had a tough year of it in 2014. First the Occupy protests heaped scorn on a system of government with which they are intricately involved, then in December one of the city’s biggest businessmen was found guilty of corruption after a sensational trial.
This year might be almost as eventful: bankers increasingly believe there is potential for the tycoons to turn their attention overseas.
The trial of Raymond and Thomas Kwok, alongside three others, rocked Hong Kong, where establishment figures are rarely seen in the dock. Raymond Kwok was cleared of all four charges, Thomas of two, but he was found guilty on one count of bribing an official and sentenced to five years in prison.