Three years after serving as chairman, he was named executive director at HSBC in 2008. He was also the first Chinese person to join the board, on which he served until 2011.

But behind Cheng’s success lay a challenging start. The home-grown banker suffered from a polio-induced disability at the age of six. While pursuing his master’s degree at the University of Auckland in New Zealand, he worked as a part-time dishwasher at a restaurant.

After returning to Hong Kong in 1978, he took up an offer to work as an economist at HSBC. He made a modest monthly salary of HK$3,000 (US$382) at the time, he told the Post in a 2008 interview.

Three years later, in another Post interview before retiring as executive director, Cheng said: “I loved working at the bank. When I first started, there were separate towels with each of the officers’ names on them in the washroom. I felt so privileged!”

Cheng previously served as chief economist in 1986 at HSBC subsidiary Hang Seng Bank, before becoming vice-chairman and chief executive of the lender in 1998.

He was later appointed as chairman of HSBC’s Asia-Pacific arm in 2005 and then the group’s executive director in 2008, something Cheng described as being all down to merit, with race having nothing to do with it.

“Ethnicity has never been an issue. It has never occurred to me that this is a problem,” he told the Post in 1995.

“I have never been treated differently. I am just a member of a team, all of whom have different backgrounds … There is no difference.”

Cheng also entered the political arena as he was once an appointed member of both the Legislative Council and Executive Council during British colonial rule. He also served as a Hong Kong affairs adviser to China ahead of the city’s return to Chinese sovereignty in 1997.

In 2009, Cheng was made a delegate of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, the country’s top advisory body, and appointed to its Beijing municipal committee.

He also served as a non-executive director or council member at a slew of companies and institutions over the years, including the MTR Corporation. Cheng became council chairman of Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) in 2009, having previously graduated with a bachelor’s degree in economics there in the 1970s.

Peter Wong Tung-shun, chairman of HSBC’s Asia-Pacific arm, said he was deeply saddened by the news of Cheng’s death.

“I have known Vincent for many years both as a colleague and friend. He had a broad knowledge of banking, political insight, and community services,” he said. “His passing away is a loss to Hong Kong.”

Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu also expressed sorrow over his death, describing Cheng as an “esteemed banker”.

“Over the years, he had been promoting the steady development of Hong Kong’s banking industry, commanding the high respect of the sector,” Lee said, adding that Cheng had also been very committed to serving the community and was dedicated to charitable causes.

Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Christopher Hui Ching-yu said the trailblazing banker had made “valuable contributions” to the markets.

“He spared no effort in contributing to trade and the community, serving as chairman of the Mandatory Provident Fund Advisory Board and the Process Review Panel for the Securities and Futures Commission,” he said.

CUHK vice-chancellor Professor Rocky Tuan said Cheng had committed much of his life to ensuring his alma mater was “at the forefront of excellence of higher education in Hong Kong” as an alumnus and later council chairman, and that he had left an “enormous legacy” which was widely felt across the university today.

“The entire CUHK community owes Cheng an enormous debt of gratitude for his service, his vision, and his dedication to our mission,” he said.

Prominent barrister Denis Chang Khen-lee, who sat with Cheng on Exco in the 1990s, said they kept in touch at regular dinners for former members of the body.

“We were immensely proud of his achievements. He was full of confidence, energetic and on the ball. A strong personality,” Chang said.

He said Cheng’s health deteriorated in recent years but he was supported by his wife Marianna. “I admire their fortitude. He will be sorely missed,” he said.

Victor Li Tzar-kuoi, chairman of the conglomerate CK Hutchison Holdings, where Cheng served as an independent non-executive director, praised him for being “a source of pride for Chinese everywhere” when he took the helm at HSBC.

'Taipan' Cheng retires from HSBC's heights

Moses Cheng Mo-chi, a former chairman of the Insurance Authority, said he was “extremely sad” to lose a great friend and former colleague, adding that Cheng was “highly respected” in both the banking sector and the community.

“He was loved by everyone he connected with. He was greatly supported by his dear wife Mariana and the rest of his family,” he said. He also recalled that, before the pandemic, the two friends would sing Christmas carols together to raise money for charity.

Nightlife tycoon Allan Zeman, a friend of Vincent Cheng for many years, remembered him as a “very, very bright” and caring person.

“He was one of the early financial guys for Hong Kong. He always had a good theory on things and was very intelligent,” he said.

Christopher Cheung Wah-fung, a former legislator for the financial services sector, said Cheng was very knowledgeable on both banking and national policies but was also “very humble”.