Easing Hong Kong’s COVID curbs, opening China border prime bankers’ want checklist -HKMA chief By Reuters

By Anne Marie Roantree

HONG KONG (Reuters) – International executives wish to see an extra easing of Hong Kong’s COVID-19 restrictions and it is essential for the China border to reopen so the monetary hub can reconnect with the mainland, the pinnacle of town’s de facto central financial institution instructed Reuters.

Talking on town’s foreign money peg to the U.S. greenback, Eddie Yue, chief government of the Hong Kong Financial Authority (HKMA), mentioned that whereas there was no intention to alter the peg, there have been at all times contingency plans.

Yue hosted among the world’s prime banking bosses at a enterprise convention final week aimed toward rebooting Hong Kong’s standing as a premier monetary centre.

The previous British colony has seen an exodus of expertise over the previous 12 months, with many residents fed up with relentless COVID-19 controls which have seen scores of occasions cancelled, postponed or re-routed to different Asian cities.

Anti-government protests in 2019 and a nationwide safety legislation imposed by Beijing in 2020 have additionally clouded Hong Kong’s picture.

“Within the case of Hong Kong, everybody hoped there might be additional relaxations,” Yue mentioned, referring to among the primary messages relayed to him by executives, including that he hoped the border with China would open “very quickly”.

“I hope the method may be quicker. I perceive the Hong Kong authorities is already in very intensive talks with the mainland authorities on that,” Yue mentioned in an interview on the HKMA workplace on Friday.

The Hong Kong authorities has mentioned it is working in the direction of lifting COVID-19 guidelines. The requirement for resort quarantine on arrival has ended, however worldwide guests are banned from bars and eating places for his or her first three days, amongst different measures.

Whereas Hong Kong’s foreign money regime is underneath vital stress, caught between america and China, Yue mentioned the HKMA was ready for worst-case situation.

“As with every different central financial institution, threat evaluation and threat preparation is in our DNA. So we principally put together for something. Any worst case situation … It is like we stress check the banks, we stress check ourself as nicely,” he mentioned.

Hong Kong’s mixture stability – the important thing gauge of money within the banking system – has fallen under HK$100 billion for the primary time in two years after a number of interventions to cease the native foreign money from breaking under its peg to the U.S. greenback.

On the enterprise summit final week, Chinese language regulators had made it clear that they worth Hong Kong for appearing as a springboard to the mainland and have been dedicated to supporting town’s function as a monetary centre, Yue mentioned.

“Hong Kong has a really distinctive benefit, which is the connection between the world and China … This function belongs to Hong Kong.”