| While the presence of Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon and many Wall Street titans at this week’s big HKMA conference in Hong Kong may suggest the international finance hub is finally back, the jailing of 45 activists reminded everyone how much this place has changed. On Tuesday, Hong Kong’s top conference of the year kicked off inside a ballroom of the Grand Hyatt in Wan Chai, where folks like Solomon and the CEOs of Carlyle and State Street discussed topics ranging from the resilience of the city’s appeal to inflation and economics.  Goldman’s Solomon was here. Photographer: Paul Yeung/Bloomberg But it coincided with a high-profile trial across the harbor where a court handed down jail sentences to 45 defendants for their role in a 2020 unofficial primary poll deemed illegal by the state, an outcome that would have been unthinkable before the national security law. Another geopolitically sensitive trial — that of ex-media mogul Jimmy Lai — also made headlines this week as Lai took the stand for the first time. The jail sentences, which weren’t mentioned in any of the panels at the conference, quickly drew the condemnation of the US, which said it would slap visa curbs on local officials responsible (it’s already sanctioned city leader John Lee). This in turn, drew rebukes from China and Hong Kong about unwarranted interference. So what to make of all this? What’s clear is that while the presence of so many Wall Street giants underscored the city’s stronghold as the region’s premier financial hub and China’s importance, the trials showed that geopolitics will loom large over Hong Kong for the foreseeable future. Donald Trump’s return to the White House in a few months means it may be even more of a factor. As to the conference, it wasn’t just a big deal for Hong Kong. Beijing sent over a delegation led by Vice Premier He Lifeng and the heads of several regulators (NFRA, CSRC and SAFE) to the conference. Security was tight — organizers didn’t announce the vice premier’s participation until the very last minute, and reporters had to go through multiple checks and a sniffer dog to get into the ballroom. Officials talked up the importance of Hong Kong’s role as an international financial center and voiced optimism about recently announced stimulus measures for the Chinese economy. No surprise there, but it offered a rare opportunity for international bankers and investors to directly hear from top Beijing officials. The two-day conference ended Wednesday successfully with no on-stage drama, and will return next year in the first week of November — the organizers have already scouted two possible locations. But the geopolitical overhand is likely to persist — as the fate of the jailed activists shows. —Joanne Wong and Kiuyan Wong, with assistance from Denise Wee. One of the lighter moments of this week’s conference came when Goldman’s David Solomon and Morgan Stanley CEO Ted Pick were asked during a panel how their firms were dealing with the rise of the likes of Jane Street and Citadel Securities. Solomon answered that those firms were only competitive in a narrow segment of the market, while the big banks looked at the overall ecosystem. But he accidentally referred to Goldman and Morgan Stanley as “Goldman Stanley,” drawing a good laugh from the audience. Seizing the moment, Solomon then looked at Morgan Stanley’s CEO and jokingly asked “Goldman Stanley — a little bit of a merger there?” Pick, not to be outdone, quipped “I was thinking Morgan Sachs.” In case you’re wondering, they talked about more substantive things too. | 
