Standard Chartered chief executive Bill Winters expressed worries about Hong Kong’s ability to maintain its position as a leading hub in the region, citing risks from prolonging its strict Covid region.
Hong Kong’s zero-Covid approach continues to cast a gloomy outlook for the city’s future as a regional hub, with Standard Chartered’s chief executive becoming the latest to voice his concerns.
«The longer it [Hong Kong] endures the relatively restrictive mobility patterns compared to other hubs, the harder it will be to maintain its dominant position [in the region],» Bill Winters said in a «Financial Times» report.
«Hopefully it will return to that regional role [. .. ] all in all we look at China and still see a ton of opportunity.»
«Strong Competition»
According to Winters, Hong Kong faces more than just the challenge of reopening with the world but also the «strong competition» in Asia by rival hubs like Singapore and Tokyo.
«I am very sorry to see a spike in cases,» Winters added.
«Hong Kong is reasonably well vaccinated, so it should be able to withstand it, [but] we are watching how closely it follows the China zero-Covid strategy . . . in the meantime there will be a slight depressive effect, but we are coping quite well.»
China Opportunity
Despite the Hong Kong headwinds, Standard Chartered remains optimistic about the long-term outlook for China.
As part of its efforts to reach double-digit return on tangible equity by 2024 – up from 6 percent in 2021 – the bank is looking to double profits from its China-related business, investing $300 million in the market.
«Obviously there is a lot going on in China right now,« Winters said. «We are reasonably optimistic that real estate is facing a liquidity crisis, not a solvency crisis . . . [and] the government seems to be moderating policies a little bit, so we are hopeful things will stabilize and recover.»
