A Hong Kong lobby group for fund managers is calling on incoming chief executive John Lee to scrap travel quarantine rules to restore the city’s status as a global financial hub.
Calls for a reopening continue to mount with the Hong Kong Investment Funds Association (HKIFA) now urging incoming chief executive John Lee to drop quarantine rules for travelers.
«The longer we are stuck in this restrictive mode, the more we are reducing our relevance and competitiveness in the international arena,» according to a «Bloomberg» report citing an email from HKIFA CEO Sally Wong who added that Hong Kong’s financial industry has been «battered» by zero-Covid measures.
November Summit
Wong mentioned that a reopening would benefit Hong Kong, especially during the planned November summit to welcome top financial executives globally.
«If we can achieve quarantine-free travel soon, the November summit would be propitious to show that Hong Kong’s connectivity with the rest of the world is back in motion and we are firing on all cylinders,» she said.
Wish List
In addition to the widely popular desire for Hong Kong’s reopening, Wong said HKIFA was also preparing a larger «wish list» for Lee when he takes over on July 1 with a focus on cross-border capital market activities.
The wishes include new rules to allow block and hold trading as well as access to IPOs in mainland China via the Stock Connect program.
HKIFA also hopes for relaxation of rules in other cross-border schemes including mutual fund recognition, Wealth Connect, and Chinese private pension fund investments in Hong Kong’s approved pension scheme.
