To preserve its role as a worldwide investment and banking centre, Hong Kong has to enable financial sector personnel unfettered mobility, according to an industry research, as the city continues to maintain some of the most severe coronavirus rules in the world.
The Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA) and PwC issued a study on Tuesday that claimed Hong Kong was still an important regional market but was experiencing “some of its largest difficulties to date.”
More than half of the area’s significant funds with at least $1 billion in managed assets are situated in Hong Kong, according to the study, China’s special administrative territory.
Despite this, the city’s population has decreased significantly in the previous two years due to limitations on travel and border closures, resulting in an exodus of citizens from the city.
An rising competitiveness and global threats, including pandemic, need further efforts to sustain the city’s competitive advantages and to develop a better and more resilient future, the research said.
A careful balance must be achieved between Hong Kong’s status as an international financial centre and larger local public health issues.”
According to official figures, Hong Kong has recorded more than 1.2 million coronavirus infections and roughly 9,400 fatalities.
Hong Kong is one of just a handful of big cities still requiring quarantine for arriving visitors, who must stay seven days in a specified hotel at their own expense.
The city’s authorities argued that the prohibition on individual flights bringing in individuals sick with the COVID-19 virus was causing “unnecessary hardship and discomfort” to its citizens, thus the regulation was loosened last week.
As a result of quarantine regulations and flying restrictions, corporate travel to Hong Kong has come to a virtual standstill and global bank CEOs have mostly avoided visiting the city since 2020, even when visiting Singapore.
According to official figures, Hong Kong has seen a net exodus of more than 140,000 residents since the beginning of the year. Only time will tell how many people have departed for good.