Global banks urge Hong Kong to ease zero-Covid policy, as city waived only one in five applicants from tough quarantine measures

Name: Hong Kong, Australia’s goal to eliminate Covid-19 ‘not sustainable’, says infectious disease expert
Uploaded: 2021-10-25T09:46:59.000Z
Duration: 4 min 55 s
Description: Hong Kong, Australia’s goal to eliminate Covid-19 ‘not sustainable’, says infectious disease expert

The government approved only 86 quarantine waivers as of October 22, out of 385 applications received, according to data provided by the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau (FSTB)

Hong Kong risks losing its vital international status if it does not implement a clear Covid exit strategy, said the Asia Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (ASIFMA)

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Inbound travellers arriving at Hong Kong International Airport getting in queue to be transported to quarantine hotels in the city on 2 September 2021. Photo: Dickson Lee

Enoch Yiu

Published: 5:46pm, 25 Oct 2021Updated: 10:26pm, 25 Oct 2021

International financial firms have urged Hong Kong to ease its zero-Covid approach, as the government’s data showed that only one in five applicants were exempted from a tough quarantine rule since a waiver programme kicked off five months ago.

The exemption scheme had not operated as expected, with only 86 approvals granted as of October 22, out of 385 applications received, according to data provided by the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau (FSTB) in response to a query by South China Morning Post.

The data underscored the concern shared in a survey compiled by the Asia Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (ASIFMA), which counts 150 banks and asset managers as members including BlackRock, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan. The guild sent a letter to Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po over the weekend, urging him to give a clear road map of how the city plans to resume normal operations like other international financial centres.

Nine out 10 of the association’s members said they were finding it difficult to operate in Hong Kong because of the highly restrictive Covid-19 policies, while 48 per cent were contemplating moving staff or functions away from Hong Kong amid such challenges, a recent survey of 30 members showed.

The members “fear that if Hong Kong does not develop and communicate a clear and meaningful exit strategy from the current zero-case approach, as is the case in many other jurisdictions, Hong Kong risks losing its vital international status”, Mark Austen, chief executive of ASIFMA, said in the letter.

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Hong Kong, Australia’s goal to eliminate Covid-19 ‘not sustainable’, says infectious disease expert

Hong Kong has served as a gateway for international investors to the mainland, with the city ranking as the world’s top initial public offering market seven times in the past 12 years. The city, an integral part of Beijing’s Greater Bay Area initiative, has also set its sights on becoming a green finance centre and an offshore bond-raising destination for mainland entities and the central government.