The sudden resignation of Cathay Pacific chief executive officer Rupert Hogg last week, after the airline incurred the wrath of China over the anti-government protests in Hong Kong, has raised the million-dollar question of who could be next to get the axe.

Observers in the political and business sectors say Mr Hogg's shocking exit is a warning to all Hong Kong firms and foreign multinational companies (MNCs) that they risk being at the receiving end of Beijing's wrath.