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As Hong Kong sinks deeper into isolation, foreign firms despair

ORIGINAL POST
Posted by Ed 3 yrs ago
https://hongkong.asiaxpat.com/Utility/GetImage.ashx?ImageID=8d1478dd-8f65-493e-95c8-f67fc9368eff&refreshStamp=0
 
Hong Kong, China – Before the pandemic, Basil Hwang enjoyed a globe-trotting lifestyle synonymous with high-flying expat executives in Hong Kong, travelling to visit his family in Singapore two or three times each month.
 
These days, Hwang, who holds management positions at several Hong Kong-based firms, only manages to see his children twice a year – a result of the city adhering to some of the toughest quarantine rules on earth.
 
“They ask me every time I call, ‘Daddy when are you coming back?’” Hwang, who has three children aged between 12 and 16, said.
 
“If you are not seeing them for six months, you are missing out on a big part of their growth. I think my son has grown 3 or 4 inches just in the time I haven’t seen him.”
 
For Hwang, the prolonged separation has prompted soul-searching about his future in a city long renowned as Asia’s most cosmopolitan and connected business hub.
 
“Now I get to see my kids once every six months, and I do seriously wonder if that’s an acceptable compromise,” said Hwang, who also serves as vice chairperson of the Singapore Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong.
 
“Business is fine. It’s more on the personal side where it’s really taking a toll.”
 
Hwang’s angst reflects a growing frustration and despair among Hong Kong’s foreign business community as the financial hub descends deeper into international isolation even as the rest of the world opens up.
 
The city’s “zero COVID” policy, which requires most arrivals to undergo 21 days of hotel quarantine, is prompting many expats to leave or draw up exit plans, placing a question mark over the long-term viability of the semi-autonomous territory’s claim to being “Asia’s World City”.
 

You went into a bank even 10 years ago, probably 30-35 percent of the population there would have been Western expats. Now that's probably 10 percent

JOHN MULLALLY, RECRUITER AT ROBERT WALTERS

 
 
 
https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2021/11/3/as-hong-kong-sinks-deeper-into-isolation-foreign-firms-despair 

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COMMENTS
Ed 3 yrs ago
https://hongkong.asiaxpat.com/Utility/GetImage.ashx?ImageID=ec70bdfa-5709-4aee-8dd0-d1120c511ab2&refreshStamp=0 
HK AmCham President Resigns Over City's Quarantine Rules 
 

HONG KONG (Reuters) - The president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong said on Tuesday she is resigning as she cannot appeal to the city's government to ease COVID-19 restrictions at the same time as having to undergo quarantine herself.

The Hong Kong government has come under immense pressure to open borders or risk losing executives and investment amid some of the world's strictest quarantine rules, which some fear could hamper the city's standing as a global financial centre.

"It is not in my nature to advocate on something, and then embark on quarantine like a stooge," Tara Joseph, who is currently in the United States and would face three weeks of hotel quarantine if she returned to the city, told Reuters.

"Hong Kong has entered a new phase so quickly and it should appeal to people who don't mind its new normal and see opportunities. American companies have a lot to navigate in the coming few years but there is always potential in Hong Kong."

Joseph, a former Reuters journalist, has appealed to the government continuously on behalf of chamber members to ease the city's quarantine rules. She said she would remain at the helm for six months while the American Chamber of Commerce finds a new president.

https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2021-11-16/hk-amcham-president-resigns-over-citys-quarantine-rules 

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Ed 3 yrs ago
So long, Hong Kong: Asia's business hub loses its luster
 
City's rigid quarantine rules appease mainland but risk alienating foreign bankers
 

HONG KONG -- This year, like every year, Hong Kong's banking circles have been peppered with farewells for senior executives. The glittering bars of Lockhart Road and Lan Kwai Fong have seen many bottles of Champagne uncorked, tearful speeches delivered and group selfies taken in a natural cycle of change that starts toward the end of each calendar year as senior rainmakers depart for London, New York, Tokyo or Frankfurt. This year, however, few replacements are flying in.

Most of the banks whose headquarters dot the waterfront of Victoria Harbour have seen a steady erosion of those in the top positions as their functions are transferred elsewhere. The banks insist they are not moving their operations, but headhunters say the hollowing out of key personnel on many desks is being camouflaged by an expansion in wealth management functions tailored to mainland Chinese.

Most blame Hong Kong's uniquely stringent COVID-19 regulations -- arguably the toughest pandemic border controls in the world. These are aimed at synchronizing the city with mainland China's strict zero-COVID policies and have meant brutal quarantine stays of up to 3 weeks for anyone flying in. But while the goal has been to open up travel with China, so far this has failed. The doors to the mainland have been shut for over 18 months, and so too is the gate for international travelers into Hong Kong.

The restrictions remain despite the fact that many other regions competing with Hong Kong for the mantle of Asia's financial center are lifting travel bans and easing quarantine requirements. Japan last week opened its borders to business travelers for the first time since January, while Singapore has been opening up "vaccinated travel lanes" with several countries, including the U.S., U.K., and Australia, since September, whereby travelers can enter the country and forgo quarantine provided they are fully vaccinated and produce a negative PCR test on arrival.

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, who was granted quarantine exemption when he arrived in Hong Kong on Nov. 15 for a 32-hour trip, told reporters that Hong Kong's COVID-19 rules had made it more difficult to retain and attract talent. He was given his exemption in "the interest of the city's economic development," according to Carrie Lam, the city's chief executive, answering questions the following day.

https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/The-Big-Story/So-long-Hong-Kong-Asia-s-business-hub-loses-its-luster

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