is redefining politics in Hong Kong.

The febrile atmosphere in the city

is also making it a less attractive place

for expat bankers, except perhaps for those working

at Chinese banks, which were targeted

in last year's demonstrations.

We've taken a close look whether the political convulsions

in Hong Kong are accelerating the 'mainlandisation'

of its financial sector.

In other words, is Hong Kong's finance sector

becoming more Chinese?

At the end of July, bankers at Chinese firms

totaled more than 2,100.

That's a massive rise from 2013.

At the current rate bankers at Chinese firms

will soon outnumber everyone else.

That makes sense when you consider that Hong Kong Stock

Exchange now outshines New York as the premier platform

for Chinese companies that want to raise dollar funding.

Chinese listings in the US actually grew by a quarter

this year to over 3bn, but the value of listings in Hong Kong

has doubled to more than 18bn.

And Hong Kong's stock market is set

to benefit even more from fraying US-China ties,

as hawks in Washington push to delist Chinese companies that

don't comply with American accounting standards.

A divesting is on the cards for virtually every Chinese company

that listed on Wall Street.

Many have set up secondary share placements in Hong Kong

as a fallback option.

And unsurprisingly, it's the Chinese banks

who dominate those deals and the IPOs

of up and coming Chinese tech groups.

This year, Beijing backed CICC and state run China Merchants

Bank are the top book runners for listings in Hong Kong.

Both have more than one billion worth of deals

to their name so far this year.

The only western bank to break the top 10 is UBS.

Hong Kong is starting to look less like a global financial

nexus and more like an offshore centre for Chinese finance.