Things seem to be moving on the visa front, a good friend of mine just had his approved yesterday, although his situation is not typical.
This will be his 4th term in HK over the last 20 yrs (with the same employer each time)
Naturally he has a HKID but never made PR
He owns property here
His ex wife and child are here (but defo not giving him any dependants status!)
Works for a big bank
His employer used a consultant (PWC) to get the processing done asap
All in the process took a month, however it's broken down like this:
1st application sent by mail from the UK never arrived (probably)
10 days later 2nd application was sent by DHL
3 days later DHL report delivered
7 days later - HK Immigration officially acknowledge receipt of his application
1 week later, visa is approved
Now awaiting arrival of the visa sent to the UK.