Foreign firms may flee Hong Kong if reforms go wrong way: top US lawyer
Top US lawyer warns city's politics will be at the centre of international focus and foreign firms may move to rival cities Singapore or Shanghai
International businesses will be watching Hong Kong's political development closely over the next 18 months and may move their interests elsewhere if reforms take the "wrong direction", the head of the world's biggest lawyers' body says.
"There is enough time for two things to happen," Silkenat told the South China Morning Post.
"If the direction is the wrong one, there will be enough time for businesses around the world to educate themselves [on developments].
"If the diagnosis is positive, the city will be more attractive to international financial and legal institutions," Silkenat added.
He said rival cities Singapore and Shanghai could be the beneficiaries if there was a flight of business from Hong Kong.
Silkenat's remarks, made while he attended a legal forum held by the Law Society last week, follow stern rebukes from Beijing to senior British and United States officials who were accused of meddling in Hong Kong affairs after making similar comments.