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HSBC instructs all 30,000 staff in Hong Kong to get vaccinated against coronavirus as city pushes to reopen China border
- HKMA, other regulators asked financial sector to ‘proactively encourage’ staff to get their Covid-19 jabs
- HSBC and its Hang Seng Bank unit have about 30,000 employees on staff in Hong Kong
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HSBC, the biggest of Hong Kong’s three currency-issuing lenders, has asked all of its staff in the city to ensure they are vaccinated against the coronavirus after regulators asked financial institutions to “proactively encourage” their employees to take the vaccine in the latest push to increase inoculation rates in the financial centre.
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Staff members who have not received their first dose of the vaccine should do so by November 30 or submit to a Covid-19 test every two weeks, according to a memo issued by the bank. HSBC is based in London, but counts Hong Kong as its largest market.
The contents of the memo were confirmed by a bank spokeswoman on Friday.
Last week, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) and other watchdogs asked the financial industry, from banks to insurers, to encourage their employees to be vaccinated by the end of this month or face bi-weekly testing.
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Hong Kong’s Covid response is more ‘pursuing politics’ than ‘following science’
Hong Kong’s Covid response is more ‘pursuing politics’ than ‘following science’
The Hong Kong Economic Times reported the HSBC memo earlier on Friday.
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Many global banks have been encouraging their employees to get vaccinated after months of working from home or limiting the number of people in offices to avoid sidelining teams.
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