The brokerage role of Hong Kong in global financial networks: the case of mainland Chinese companies’ US listings

Abstract

This paper explores the prominent and enduring brokerage role of Hong Kong in facilitating mainland Chinese companies’ US listings. We argue the brokerage role needs to be interpreted in both global and territorial dimensions. Situating Hong Kong in the global context, it uses its connectivity in global financial networks, and especially its close tie to the network core, New York, to broker between global and local scales. In its territorial context, Hong Kong’s territoriality, configured through its history, socio-economic milieu and regulatory environment, gives it the niche to broker between the Western-dominant financial system and the peripheral Chinese local regions.