Border closures threaten Hong Kong’s financial hub status

In an unprecedented open letter to Hong Kong’s financial secretary Paul Chan, the Asia Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (Asifma) writes: “We fear that if Hong Kong does not develop, and communicate, a clear and meaningful exit strategy from the current zero-case approach, as is the case in many other jurisdictions, Hong Kong risks losing its vital international status.””The government must do its utmost to foster informed dialogue and full consideration of the long-term risks to livelihoods if its borders remain effectively closed, in contrast to competing international financial and business centres.”