Hong Kong’s status as a global financial centre can withstand city’s quarantine rules, SFC chief says
- ‘There will be no long-term impact on Hong Kong as international financial centre,’ says SFC CEO Ashley Alder
- Alder, who is currently undergoing a 21-day quarantine after returning from the COP26 summit in Glasgow, says his experience with the hotel isolation has been fine
The head of Hong Kong’s securities watchdog categorically defended the government’s restrictive quarantine policy, saying that it will not affect the city’s status as a global finance hub.
Alder, who is currently undergoing a 21-day quarantine after returning from the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, answered media queries from his hotel room as he remotely took part in the SFC Regulatory Forum.
Other financial centres like Singapore, London and New York have eased travel restrictions and opted for “living with Covid”. Hong Kong, on the other hand, has adopted a zero-Covid-19 policy and requires travellers to undergo up to 21 days of compulsory quarantine.
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“The other cities cannot replicate what we are doing,” he said. “Hong Kong has a range of successful cross-border trading schemes with the mainland, including the two Stock Connect schemes, Bond Connect and Wealth Management Connect schemes.”
He pointed out that other cities did not have such mechanisms for moving capital in and out of the mainland.