The U.S. should rethink its close ties with Hong Kong’s banking sector, leaders of an influential House committee say
3 min
Leading China hawks in the U.S. House of Representatives are calling for a rethink on whether Hong Kong should continue to enjoy the cozy banking relationship it has with the U.S., saying the city is becoming a hub for money-laundering and sanctions evasion.
Hong Kong has turned into a major centre for the export of controlled Western technology to Russia; the creation of front companies to buy Iranian oil; the managing of “ghost ships” that serve North Korea, as well as other violations of U.S. trade controls, the bipartisan leaders of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party said in a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen .
The letter was signed by Rep. John Moolenaar , a Michigan Republican who chairs the committee, and Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi , an Illinois Democrat who is the committee’s ranking member. The Wall Street Journal reviewed a draft of the letter, which was publicly released Monday.
“Hong Kong has shifted from a trusted global financial centre to a critical player in the deepening authoritarian axis of the People’s Republic of China, Iran, Russia and North Korea,” the lawmakers said. “We must now question whether longstanding U.S. policy towards Hong Kong, particularly towards its financial and banking sector, is appropriate.”
The lawmakers cited research, for example, that shows that nearly 40% of goods shipped from Hong Kong to Russia in 2023 were high-priority items such as semiconductors that Russia could use to prosecute its war in Ukraine.
Both lawmakers have worked extensively in the past with President-elect Donald Trump ’s pick for secretary of state, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, on China-related issues, including efforts to force TikTok’s Chinese owners to sell the app.
The allegation that Hong Kong is a money-laundering hub is unfounded, a spokesman for the Hong Kong government said. The spokesman added that Hong Kong has a vigorous enforcement system to prevent the illegal diversion of strategic commodities. A representative for Yellen didn’t respond to a request for comment.
The two lawmakers, whose committee focuses on competition with China and frequently makes bipartisan calls for a tougher approach to the country, asked Treasury for information on how it intends to combat money-laundering and sanctions evasion that use Hong Kong’s financial system.
Hong Kong, which has a special status within China, has seen its role as a global financial hub increasingly come into question as Beijing has muscled the city closer into its orbit, driving an exodus of expatriates. U.S. officials in particular have condemned Hong Kong authorities’ crackdown on dissidents under a tough national security law, though many Western banks have continued to do some business there.
Last week, a court in Hong Kong sentenced dozens of pro-democracy advocates for what Communist Party leadership viewed as subversion under that law. The Biden administration has called for their immediate and unconditional release. The government of the Hong Kong special administrative region said attacks on the “fair and open” sentencing are smears.
The same day, a Hong Kong government-sponsored financial summit played host to a number of global financial leaders, including Goldman Sachs Chairman David Solomon , Citi Chief Executive Jane Fraser and State Street CEO Ronald O’Hanley , according to a program of the event. Leaders from HSBC , BNP Paribas and other institutions also attended.
Banking leaders didn’t publicly discuss the court proceedings on the summit’s panels. A spokesman for State Street confirmed O’Hanley’s attendance. A spokeswoman for Citi declined to comment. Representatives for the other banks didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Earlier this month, Moolenaar and Krishnamoorthi called on the Biden administration to sanction Hong Kong police, judges and prosecutors for their role in the arbitrary detentions of human-rights activists.
Copyright 2020, Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved Worldwide. LEARN MORE
PSB Academy currently hosts over 20,000 students each year and offers certification, diploma and degree courses.
Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot star in an awkward live-action attempt to modernize the 1937 animated classic.
The U.S. now has more billionaires than China for the first time in a decade, driven by AI and a booming stock market.
3 min
The number of U.S. billionaires in the world reached 870 in mid-January, outpacing the number in China for the first time in 10 years, according to a snapshot of the wealthiest in the world by the Hurun Report.
The U.S. gained 70 billionaires since last year, powered by a rising stock market, a strong dollar, and the insatiable appetite for all things AI, according to the 14th annual Hurun Global Rich List . China gained nine billionaires overall for a total of 823. Hurun is a China-based research, media, and investment group.
“It’s been a good year for AI, money managers, entertainment, and crypto,” Rupert Hoogewerf, chairman and chief researcher of the Hurun Report, said in a news release. “It’s been a tough year for luxury, telecommunications, and real estate in China.”
Overall, the Hurun list—which reflects a snapshot of global wealth based on calculations made Jan. 15—counted 3,442 billionaires in the world, up 5%, or 163, from a year ago. Their total wealth rose 13% to just under $17 trillion.
In November, New York research firm Altrata reported that the billionaire population rose 4% in 2023 to 3,323 individuals and their wealth rose 9% to $12.1 trillion.
Elon Musk, CEO of electric-car maker Tesla and right-hand advisor to President Donald Trump, topped the list for the fourth time in five years, with recorded wealth of $420 billion as of mid-January as Tesla stock soared in the aftermath of the U.S. election, according to Hurun’s calculations.
The firm noted that Musk’s wealth has since nosedived about $100 billion, falling along with shares of Tesla although the EV car maker is benefiting on Thursday from Trump’s 25% tariff on cars made outside the U.S.
According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Musk’s wealth stood at about $336 billion as of the market’s close on Wednesday, although measuring his exact wealth —including stakes in his privately held companies and the undiscounted value of his Tesla shares—is difficult to precisely determine.
The overall list this year contained 387 new billionaires, while 177 dropped off the list—more than 80 of which were from China, Hurun said. “China’s economy is continuing to restructure, with the drop-offs coming from a weeding out of healthcare and new energy and traditional manufacturing, as well as real estate,” Hoogewerf said in the release.
Among those who wealth sank was Colin Huang, the founder of PDD Holdings —the parent company of e-commerce platforms Temu and Pinduoduo—who lost $17 billion.
Also, Zhong Shanshan, the founder and chair of the Nongfu Spring beverage company and the majority owner of Beijing Wantai Biological Pharmacy Enterprise , lost $8 billion from “intensifying competition” in the market for bottled water. The loss knocked Zhong from his top rank in China, which is now held by Zhang Yiming founder of Tik-Tok owner Bytedance. Zhang is ranked No. 22 overall.
Hurun’s top 10 billionaires is a familiar group of largely U.S. individuals including Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, and Larry Ellison. The list has France’s LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault in seventh place, three notches down from his fourth ranked spot on the Bloomberg list, reflecting a slump in luxury products last year.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is ranked No. 11 on Hurun’s list as his wealth nearly tripled to $128 billion through Jan. 15. Other AI billionaires found lower down on the list include Liang Wenfeng, 40, founder and CEO of DeepSeek, with wealth of $4.5 billion and Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, with $1.8 billion.
Also making the list were musicians Jay-Z ($2.7 billion), Rihanna ($1.7 billion), Taylor Swift ($1.6 billion), and Paul McCartney ($1 billion). Sports stars included Michael Jordan ($3.3 billion), Tiger Woods ($1.7 billion), Floyd Mayweather ($1.3 billion), and LeBron James ($1.3 billion).
Wealth continues to surge across the globe, but Hoogewerf noted those amassing it aren’t overly generous.
“We only managed to find three individuals in the past year who donated more than $1 billion,” he said. Warren Buffet gave $5.3 billion, mainly to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, while Michael Bloomberg —ranked No. 19 with wealth of $92 billion—gave $3.7 billion to various causes. Netflix founder Reed Hastings, ranked No. 474 with wealth of $6.2 billion, donated $1.1 billion.
