Vitasoy’s vending machines are so ubiquitous in Hong Kong that they sometimes seem as numerous as mass transit ticket machines. The company’s decision on Tuesday to introduce machines that accept renminbi notes at ferry terminals on the Hong Kong side – thoroughfares for mainland Chinese travellers visiting the city in increasing numbers – will be seen as yet another bellwether pointing to the increasing usage of RMB in Hong Kong.

Companies like Caterpillar and McDonald’s have issued RMB-denominated bonds in the city in recent months. But there is an alternative view of the rush of wealthy mainland Chinese buying up luxury flats in Hong Kong, where they have bought about a third of all flats over HK$20m in the past year or so. This posits that rich mainlanders are diversifying their assets: Hong Kong as an international financial centre with a fully convertible currency, low tax regime and strong links to mainland China is a very convenient place to do it. In that context, Vitasoy’s new vending machines are a metaphor for what Hong Kong is today. It has become a giant vending machine where few questions are asked as wealthy mainlanders are wooed to spend freely on real estate, fine art — and, if they are thirsty, even soy milk drinks.