HONG KONG: Business executives in Hong Kong have a wish list for its new leader: Scrap COVID-19 quarantine rules, and promote the rule of law and transparent regulations to revive foreign investor confidence – before the territory becomes a hardship posting.
Former security chief John Lee, who becomes chief executive of the former British colony on Friday (Jul 1), needs to reboot the once-teeming global financial hub, eight business leaders said, because its border has effectively been sealed since 2020 and international arrivals subject to stringent quarantine and testing protocols.
These measures, including one week of mandatory hotel quarantine, and stool testing of babies for coronavirus have hammered Hong Kong’s competitiveness, the executives said.
“Hong Kong, once one of the most sought-after postings for executives, has become a hardship posting due to the lack of international connectivity,” said Stuart Bailey, chairman of the Hong Kong Exhibition & Convention Industry Association, which has been battered by the restrictions.
“The first step is to resume quarantine-free travel to the city,” he added. “We are almost the last place in the world that still requires travellers to quarantine upon arrival and this must change as soon as possible. The next step is a major PR exercise to get people to come.”
Hong Kong’s once-buzzing nightlife scene has sputtered, with many popular bars empty on what would typically be packed weekends. The city saw a net outflow of more than 134,000 people in the first half of this year, compared with just 1,813 in the same period of 2021.
Data shows residents leaving the city for good withdrew a total of HK$9.014 billion in 2021, up 52 per cent from the previous year. For the first quarter, withdrawals from MPF accounts – government-mandated savings, which departing residents can cash out on – amounted to HK$2.014 billion, up from HK$1.931 billion a year earlier, the latest data shows.
Hong Kong has tried to emulate China’s “dynamic zero COVID” approach. But unlike in the mainland, Hong Kong’s territory, home to more than 7 million people, remains highly reliant on international travel and business.
Talent, corporations and conventions have left in droves for places such as Singapore and Dubai, fed up with more than three years of turbulence, starting with anti-government protests in 2019.
In a sign of the city’s growing remoteness from the rest of the region, Citigroup chief executive Jane Fraser and JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon have both visited Singapore in the past two months, trips that would normally include Hong Kong, to visit key banking clients and senior staff.
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