Hands across the oceans

What is the message sent out when a top mainland leader shakes with the boss of a British conglomerate very familiar to Hongkongers?

Will the conglomerate regain enough confidence to move its headquarters back to the SAR?

Vice Premier Wang Qishan met yesterday in Beijing with Jardine Matheson Holdings chairman Henry Keswick, pictured.

After a firm handshake, the pair exchanged views on economic cooperation between China and Britain.

Jardine Matheson, once headquartered at Jardine House in Central, shifted part of its operations to London and the rest to Singapore in the early 1990s, before the SAR’s handover to the motherland in 1997.

But the conglomerate with a primary listing in London remains active in the territory, with business operations ranging from hotels to airport logistics services and including brands such as Mandarin Oriental, Dairy Farm International, Pizza Hut and Maxim’s.

Hands across the oceans