Quote from newguy05:
shanghai will become the financial hub of asia, overtaking hongkong and tokyo, it's not a question of if but when (soon). But i will be very surprised if it ever overtake new york for a couple reasons:
1) The chinese government rules all the banks with an iron fist, they are nothing more than utility companies. The govt will never allow investment banks, especially western ones, to move into china and corrupt its foundation with gimmicks dreamed up by their quants. The western banks with major presence in shanghai now are hsbc, morgan stanley, and citi, almost all of it focused purely on regular banking and m&a.
2) Despite the significance of the chinese economy and their financial presence, the actual markets over there are still very primitive, you only have regular non-shortable non-daytrade stocks, standard corp/govt debt/bonds, an illiquid future/commodity market that is highly unregulated and still in its infancy, and not much else. This was on purpose by the government to ensure it has complete control over the market without all the unmarketable derivative shit that created the problems during the meltdown. Although i think they are too cautious, regular options should be allowed!
3) It's not a bad thing what the chinese govt is doing with their financial system - the complete control over the banks, run them like utilities, low risk/leverage, etc.... as it clearly demonstrated during the meltdown even the most antichina critics have to agree, compared to the western banks.
I dont think the chinese govt will ever trade their control over the banks/financial system for the world's top financial center title, stability above all else is the chinese motto, because stability means the 1.3 billion ppl will not revolt against the govt - biggest fear by the communist leaders.
Now mumbai/india, whoever suggested they may become a world financial hub is on a different planet. If you ever been to india, only that tiny bubble area within mumbia is western/developed, almost the entire country as you walk out that bubble is still a slum, dirt roads, and horse carts. You cannot even comprehend the infrastructure comparison between india and china. Nevermind the financial systems, capital markets and other components. Yet the funny thing in the next 2 decades, new york wall street will most likely be controlled by indians as second generation moves above the low level paperpush positions to senior management on the street - mark my word, like what they have already successfully achieved in IT/technology, and medical fields(to a lesser extend). This is not a racist comment by any means, just stating the fact and a future prediction.
Singapore is probably the only other asian country that could become a world financial hub....