Newbridge negotiated permission from municipal authorities in the southern city of Shenzhen, a progressive place by Chinese standards, to buy a stake in and take management control of a local bank.

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Officials recently announced plans to introduce greater checks and balances between the party, the executive and the legislature in Shenzhen (which borders on Hong Kong and is, ironically, the place where Mr Wang was sentenced).

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But potentially the most interesting development took place late last year when the central authorities gave Newbridge Capital the go-ahead to take a controlling stake in Shenzhen Development Bank.

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