London’s rise as an offshore RMB financial centre: state-finance relations and selective institutional adaptation

China’s currency, the Renminbi (RMB), is increasingly important in global financial markets, facilitated by the global expansion of offshore RMB centres. This paper examines London’s development as the first Western offshore RMB centre established in 2013, drawing on original research conducted between 2013 and 2015 in London and China. The longitudinal analysis reveals that the development of RMB finance in London is characterised by selective adaptation in which state-private bargaining dynamics have shifted from strategic alignment to a bifurcation of interests. Understanding these state-finance relations has important implications for research and policymaking concerned with (offshore) financial centres and RMB internationalisation

The entry and exit decisions of foreign banks in Hong Kong

This paper presents a theoretical framework for explaining the entry and exit decisions of a firm, motivated by the differential returns in its home and a host market. Within this framework, the factors underpinning the entry and exit decisions of foreign banks in Hong Kong are examined, using a duration (accelerated failure time) model. It can be seen that a foreign bank, with international experience from having more overseas markets will take a shorter (longer) time to enter (exit) the Hong Kong market. Faster (slower) growth both in home trade with Hong Kong and in the Hong Kong banking sector itself will increase the likelihood of entry (exit). Ceteris paribus, Asian banks enter at a faster rate and survive longer in the Hong Kong market. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.