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Thread: WashingtonPost-Financial Hubs See an Opening Up at the Top

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[quote=GUEST18186,328400]Shanghai first got the serious attention of global financiers last November when its bourse hit record highs and PetroChina became, albeit briefly, the world's first $1 trillion company, surpassing the value of U.S.-based Exxon Mobil.

But many analysts dismissed that rise as irrational exuberance because of Shanghai's multiple drawbacks as a financial center: its lack of experienced workers, its strict capital controls and concerns about rule of law and courts that still sometimes put political interests over justice.

Yet the recently opened Shanghai World Financial Center, a 101-story marvel of glass and steel, has become a beacon for dealmakers from around the world. The 138 seats at the center's $200-a-head French restaurant, quaintly known as the Dining Room, are booked solid for the next three weeks. And although Lehman Brothers scrapped plans to rent offices and Morgan Stanley cut its leased space from eight to four floors, there are plenty of Chinese companies waiting to move in.

Shanghai officials say the city simply aims to reclaim the status it enjoyed in the 1920s and '30s, when the grand old bank buildings in the famous Bund area along the Huangpu River buzzed with activity.

"To us the crisis might be beneficial because we can attract more talent from Wall Street to Shanghai," said Shi Haining, deputy director of the city's Pudong New Area financial services office. "There are also possible outgoing investments, because Wall Street lacks liquidity. And there may be money that might have gone to the U.S. that comes to China instead."

Shi said the city may offer one-time rent subsidies of up to $29,000 for apartments, education stipends and 20 to 40 percent tax breaks to lure talented financial services workers from overseas. The China Investment Corp., the country's $200 billion sovereign wealth fund, has also launched a recruitment drive that aims to fill more than 30 prominent positions such as high-return bond investment manager and direct investment manager with foreign talent.

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