According to an article published today in the Wall Street Journal:
"The head of Hong Kong’s stock exchange operator must have had some sleepless nights ahead of Alibaba's decision on whether to host its multibillion-dollar initial public offering in the city.
In a 2,000-word blog posted on the website of HongKong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd., Chief Executive Charles Li penned an account of a recent night he spent dreaming of the debate overwhether to change the status quo in Hong Kong.
The dream features nine characters–Mr. Tradition, Mr. Innovation, Mr. Disclosure, Mrs. Practical, Mr. Righteous, Ms. Future, Mr. Process, Mr. Big Investor and Mr. Solution–duking it out over the best direction for HKEx.
"The head of Hong Kong’s stock exchange operator must have had some sleepless nights ahead of Alibaba's decision on whether to host its multibillion-dollar initial public offering in the city.
In a 2,000-word blog posted on the website of HongKong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd., Chief Executive Charles Li penned an account of a recent night he spent dreaming of the debate overwhether to change the status quo in Hong Kong.
The dream features nine characters–Mr. Tradition, Mr. Innovation, Mr. Disclosure, Mrs. Practical, Mr. Righteous, Ms. Future, Mr. Process, Mr. Big Investor and Mr. Solution–duking it out over the best direction for HKEx.
Big global tech companies such as Google Inc. and Facebook Inc. have special voting rights that protect their founders, says Mr. Innovation, “a young man with spikey hair” who “talks fast and excitedly.”
“Most other exchanges in the world permit them, it’s just you Hong Kong stick-in-the-muds who can’t accept change,” he says in response to Mr. Tradition, who is in the “if it isn’t broken, why fix it?” camp.
Mr. Innovation says. “Look at what happened to Apple! Steve Jobs got kicked out of the company on perfect corporate governance processes but Apple almost went bust before Jobs was asked to come back–and then he recreated one of the greatest companies on earth!”
Level-headed Mr. Disclosure steps in to mediate, arguing that the U.S. and Hong Kong are very different markets, with disclosure regimes suited to each, while Mr. Big Investor and Mrs. Small Investor clash over their respective investment needs.
The dream finally ends when someone suggests calling Mr. Solution to settle the debate.
“In real life, there isn’t a Mr. Solution who can put the right decision together for us,” wrote Mr. Li, who said he wasn’t using the blog as a platform to advocate for any position in particular, but simply to “promote an honest, balanced and respectful debate” on the issue.
