This article was first published on April 8, 1986.
Billion dollar brilliance
by Staff Reporters
The new $5.2 billion headquarters of the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corpn was formally opened last night (April 7, 1986) when the Governor, Sir Edward Youde, snipped a simple ribbon.
The building, every light ablaze, was a symbol of the bank’s faith in the future of Hongkong, said the bank’s chairman, Mr Michael Sandberg.
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Many also saw it as a vindication of Mr Sandberg’s own commitment in his final years as chairman to press ahead with the controversial new headquarters, despite a barrage of criticism about its price tag.
“It is easy to mouth confidence for the future,” said Mr Sandberg, who hands over the reins as chairman later this year. “But I believe these headquarters say it all so far as the bank sees the future.”
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The battleship grey architectural enigma, which has been described as capitalism’s cathedral of hi-tech, certainly dominated Central last night — just as surely as the bank has dominated Asian finance for decades.
