Hong Kong may not reopen until early 2024 because of its strict COVID-19 policies, which could trigger an exodus of foreign firms and staff and jeopardize the city’s role as a financial hub, its European Chamber of Commerce said in a draft report. READ:
HONG KONG — Hong Kong may not reopen until early 2024 because of its strict coronavirus disease 2019 policies, which could trigger an exodus of foreign firms and staff and jeopardize the city’s role as a financial hub, its European Chamber of Commerce said in a draft report.
“We anticipate an exodus of foreigners, probably the largest that Hong Kong has ever seen, and one of the largest in absolute terms from any city in the region in recent history,” it said. Given the scenario, multinational firms would increasingly relocate China-focused teams to the mainland or shift their Asian regional teams to Singapore or Seoul, the chamber said.
Its role as one of the world’s main transhipment and passenger hubs has been curtailed by tough flight restrictions, which mean very few people are allowed to land and hardly anyone is allowed to transit.