Morgan Stanley to reimburse Hong Kong staff up to US$5,100 for quarantine stays

Name: Hong Kong-mainland border reopening hopes grow as Chinese experts review city’s Covid-19 measures
Uploaded: 2021-11-24T11:26:38.000Z
Duration: 1 min
Description: Hong Kong-mainland border reopening hopes grow as Chinese experts review city’s Covid-19 measures

American bank is the latest to try to ease the burden on its staff of the city’s restrictive quarantine policies

Fully vaccinated travellers returning to the city face up to 21 days in hotel quarantine

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Inbound travellers arriving at Hong Kong International Airport are directed to a queue to be transported to quarantine hotels in the city. Photo: Dickson Lee

Chad Bray

Published: 7:26pm, 24 Nov 2021

Morgan Stanley plans to reimburse its staff in Hong Kong up to HK$40,000 (US$5,100) for quarantine stays when returning to the city, the latest financial services firm to try to ease the burden of the city’s restrictive quarantine policies on its employees.

The American bank said it would provide a one-time reimbursement to permanent Hong Kong employees who travel overseas between December 1 and November 30, 2022, to visit immediate family, including spouses, domestic partners, children, parents and grandparents, according to an internal memo.

A Morgan Stanley spokesperson confirmed the contents of the memo on Wednesday.

Bloomberg reported the memo earlier on Wednesday.

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Hong Kong-mainland border reopening hopes grow as Chinese experts review city’s Covid-19 measures

The internal announcement came days after rival JPMorgan Chase said it would give its Hong Kong staff up to US$5,000 in compensation for quarantine stays for a single trip home in the next 12 months.

Hong Kong has faced criticism from the financial community over the city’s “zero Covid” policy as leaders hope to reopen the border with mainland China for quarantine-free travel as soon as next month.