(Sept 6): Hong Kong is on the verge of seeing its economy surpassed in size by the former fishing village Shenzhen, a role reversal long foreshadowed by China’s massive supply of cheap labor and subsidized capital.

Shenzhen -- less than 20 miles north of central Hong Kong -- will see its gross domestic product jump to US$350 billion ($474 billion) in 2018, ahead of its rival’s projected US$345 billion, according to an analysis by Michael Parker, head of Asia Pacific strategy at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co.

Yet while Shenzhen has amply demonstrated the ability to take the original Hong Kong trade-and-manufacturing prototype to new heights, in one main area it’s the ex-British colony that still reigns supreme. Hong Kong has kept its prominence as a financial center, with its influence highlighted most recently by the opening of a gateway to the mainland’s bond market.

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