The Hong Kong Monetary Authority issued a circular to push banks to encourage inoculation amongst its staff as the city continues to struggle with widespread resistance to vaccination.
Banks are required to «identify and draw up a list of designated staff expected to receive inoculation», according to HKMA deputy chief executive Arthur Yuen in a circular urging banks to encourage more vaccination.
Staff highlighted include those in branch operations, wealth management, commercial banking as well as those in critical IT, data center, treasury and settlement operations.
Staff included on the list, which is required to be submitted within two weeks, should undergo their first coronavirus test by June 30 if they have not already taken the first vaccination dose.
Financial Sector Push
Major companies throughout the city have been offering various benefits such as cash payouts to encourage more vaccination.
Within the financial sector, HSBC said that Hong Kong-based employees would be entitled to one day off per dose of vaccine received – a benefit entitled to even previously vaccinated staff.
Low Vaccination Rate
Despite the efforts, Hong Kong’s full vaccination rate – 13.5 percent of the population, according to the Oxford Coronavirus Government Response Tracker – remains relatively low due to local resistance driven by issues like government distrust.
This has led authorities to even roll out a vaccine lottery with a chance to win a $1.4 million apartment in the world’s least affordable property market.
«If our vaccination rate continues to lag behind other major international financial hubs like New York, London or Singapore, this could even impact on our competitiveness as an international financial center when other major financial centers allow free travel with herd immunity when Hong Kong cannot,» said HKMA chief executive Eddie Yue in a separate statement. «This is a real and looming threat that Hong Kong cannot afford to overlook.»
