Japanese online brokerage giant, SBI, is reportedly considering a retreat from the Hong Kong market based on the belief that its hub status could fall.
In Hong Kong, SBI currently operates a securities business alongside research and development of medical supplies. According to a «Reuters» report citing an SBI spokesperson, the firm currently houses «dozens of employees».
«It's true we are considering retreating from Hong Kong or downsizing our business there,» the spokesperson said, adding that the firm was not confident about the sustained status of Hong Kong’s financial hub though it did not comment on relocation possibilities.
Japanese Exodus
SBI is not the first Japanese financial firm to potentially exit from the Hong Kong market due to increasing uncertainty. In July this year, Daiwa Securities told media that it might accelerate its expansion in mainland China at the expense of Hong Kong should the latter continue to see «people getting arrested one after another,» according to the firm’s deputy president Keiko Tashiro.
But unlike Daiwa, SBI is signaling bullishness on Japan and a recent change in policy direction for the country to potentially benefit from the fallout of Hong Kong’s financial sector.
SBI chief executive Yoshitaka Kitao has previously pledged to local media in Japan that he would position the country as a global financial center, replacing Hong Kong. This follows suggestions made in parliament by former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that Japan could improve its standing as a top financial hub by reforming tax policies and luring Hong Kong's financial talent.
