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LettersMoving out of Hong Kong would be a bad idea for HSBC and StanChart

Readers discuss a proposal that two of Hong Kong’s note-issuing banks should relocate, and employment protections in the digital age

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A view of financial buildings, including HSBC and Standard Chartered, from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority headquarters. A think tank has proposed encouraging the two banks to relocate from Hong Kong amid concern about Beijng's tightened control over the city. Photo: May Tse
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In June, British media outlet This is Money reported that the China Strategic Risks Institute (CSRI) has raised the alarm about the risk that mainland China’s rising influence in Hong Kong poses to foreign companies. The think tank says HSBC and Standard Chartered should be encouraged to move out of Hong Kong and away from Beijing’s tightened control over the city.

This view merits attention against the backdrop of growing concern about Chinese influence in the United Kingdom. This month, the UK government nationalised British Steel, taking it back from its Chinese owner, Jingye Group.

This growing unfriendliness towards China in the UK and across the West could be exploited by populist politicians seeking to boost their popularity. Such pressure may extend to urging the two banks to leave Hong Kong or tightening restrictions on Chinese investment in the UK.

The two banks are products of Britain’s colonial era. They still enjoy a highly lucrative colonial premium that anchors their dominant market share and low-cost funding base nearly three decades after Hong Kong’s reunification with China. They remain Hong Kong’s primary note-issuing banks and settlement banks. Hong Kong has long been their crown jewel. Since the 2008 financial crisis, the two banks have reaped enormous profits from China’s economic miracle.

In 2025, Hong Kong contributed 32 per cent to HSBC’s pre-tax profit. The city shored up around one-third of Standard Chartered’s pre-tax profit. HSBC’s recent decision to privatise Hang Seng Bank was not only a strategic move to unlock cost and revenue synergies but also a clear vote of confidence in the Hong Kong financial market outlook.
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