For Hugh Simon, chief executive of Hamon Investment Group, Hong Kong “simply works” as a fund management centre. The former Lazard banker says many of the small details that ensure the competitiveness of one of Asia’s biggest international financial centres often go under-appreciated.

Mr Simon cites Hong Kong’s efficient airport, its good schools and the ease of hiring domestic helpers as examples of such factors. Others include the city’s multiculturalism and its appeal to fund managers of different nationalities.