Joseph Yam Chi-kwong's impending retirement, after 18 years at the helm of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, is the city's worst-kept secret, even if neither he nor Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah will publicly discuss it. Nor is it any secret that Mr Yam's former deputy, Norman Chan Tak-lam, will succeed him in September.
On Thursday, a mainland magazine, Caijing, filled in another gap by revealing Mr Yam would be appointed as an adviser to the People's Bank of China after he retires. Not surprisingly, a guessing game about who will take over from Mr Chan as director of the Chief Executive's Office has begun in earnest. Lam Woon-kwong, who occupied the post under the city's first chief executive, Tung Chee-hwa, but quit in 2005, is among those tipped to fill the position.
The leaks about an imminent reshuffle involving two such sensitive posts will dilute the impact of future announcements about these changes in personnel. But if the government's strategists hope this will make the reshuffle story less juicy, they will soon find that is wishful thinking. The opposite looks more likely.
Even before Mr Yam stands down, pressure has grown for an overhaul of aspects of the authority - ranging from the way its chief executive is appointed, to the terms of the job and the occupant's accountability to the legislature. If it were not for the degree of public trust Mr Yam has acquired in the last 18 years, and particularly during the 1998 financial crisis, the controversy over his pay would have become a difficult political issue for the government. A substantial pay cut for his successor is inevitable. And importantly, Mr Chan will also be given a fixed tenure of appointment, probably five years.
However, these moves to address public concerns about the reshuffle and the functioning of the authority will not be enough to defuse political pressure for the government to rein in the authority. Democratic Party legislator Emily Lau Wai-hing has already called for a tightening of the rules on the employment of former senior Monetary Authority executives.
Ms Lau earlier questioned the approval given for Mr Chan to take up a position with Standard Chartered Bank eight months after he resigned as the authority's No2. She said the ban on post-service employment of such senior executives should last at least 12 months.
