'Busy looking for masks': Financiers worry about virus, Hong Kong braces for business slowdown
- Temporary relocation for families and search for face masks are top issues worrying bankers as they return from Lunar New Year break
- Some executives are even avoiding Hong Kong travels amid widening travel restrictions globally
Temporary relocation for families and face masks were two of the top issues concerning Hong Kong finance professionals as they began their first full business week after the Lunar New Year holiday amid the coronavirus outbreak.
Some financial firms in Hong Kong have told staff to work from home as part of broader precautions against the virus, which has claimed at least 360 lives and infected more than 17,000 people, mostly in mainland China. The disease has spread to about two dozen other countries.
In many cases they have also asked workers returning from the mainland, where the coronavirus originated, to quarantine themselves for up to two weeks.
“The loss of staff, either to the virus itself, or the unwillingness of staff to come in, is a real issue,” said Harry Rhulen, chief executive of New York-based adviser CrisisRisk. “Plans for telework need to be implemented and tested.”
Additional caution would be another blow for Hong Kong, whose economy and market have already suffered from months-long pro-democracy protests and the US-China trade war.
Initial public offerings, other equity sales and bond deals – the bread and butter of investment bankers – typically take at least a week to get going following new year holidays. Deal makers now fear a longer pause.
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“It’s definitely not business as usual for us or our clients and our entire focus now is to make sure that the things that were in the pipeline get executed somehow,” said a senior commercial banker with a large European bank.
A lawyer based in Australia said he had turned down a request for a meeting in Hong Kong for fear he may not be able to return. Australia has barred travellers from the mainland, but not those from Hong Kong, from entering the country. The Philippines has banned travellers from China, including Hong Kong.
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The people spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised by their firms to speak on the subject.
One Hong Kong-based private equity executive said he had cancelled all his meetings.
“My priority is not really on (business) anyway,” he said. “I’m more concerned about the short supply of (face) masks,” he said. “For all I know, investment teams in other firms are all busy looking for masks. They are not looking at any projects right now.”
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Worries about the spread of the coronavirus wiped around US$400 billion off the value of China’s stocks as markets reopened after the holidays.
Reflecting the overall gloom, cafes in Hong Kong’s compact Central business district were noticeably quieter on Monday, according to baristas and customers.
Many expatriate professionals have sent their families away as they eye the threat of further travel bans.
Hong Kong has closed all schools until March 2.
“There’s nothing (for them) to do with schools and all sports and cultural facilities closed, and no one wants their kids mingling at play dates,” said a banker whose family had left the city.
