Hong Kong must have a plan to end quarantine if it is to keep international financial hub status, retain talent, fund managers say

Name: Hong Kong health chief says any hotel quarantine reduction will be based on Covid infection data
Uploaded: 2022-08-01T11:00:16.000Z
Duration: 8 min 55 s
Description: Hong Kong health chief says any hotel quarantine reduction will be based on Covid infection data

Quarantine-free travel essential to putting the city back on the map for senior business executives and investors, Hong Kong Investment Fund Association says

Participation in cross-boundary schemes such as Wealth Management Connect and ETF Connect has been ‘slow and underwhelming’

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Arrivals at Hong Kong International Airport. Even a shortened quarantine time is ‘not ideal’ for international investors, says Nelson Chow, the HKIFA’s chairman. Photo: K Y Cheng

Mia Castagnone

Published: 7:00pm, 1 Aug 2022Updated: 9:37pm, 1 Aug 2022

Hong Kong needs a concrete plan for ending its quarantine requirements, if it is to reconnect with the rest of the world, retain key talent and maintain its competitive edge as an international financial centre, the Hong Kong Investment Fund Association (HKIFA), a lobby group, said on Monday.

In a proposal it is preparing to present to the government, HKIFA said quarantine-free travel will be essential to putting the city back on the map for senior business executives and investors.

“It cannot be become a norm for major business executives or investors to skip Hong Kong in their Asia trips because of quarantine requirements,” Nelson Chow Kin-hung, the association’s chairman, said in a media briefing. Shortened quarantine time was “not ideal” for international investors, Chow said. HKIFA represents firms with more than US$52 trillion in assets under management.

Hong Kong is set to shorten the hotel quarantine period for arrivals to a “3+4” or “4+3” arrangement, the Post reported last week. The arrangement is expected to be rolled out together with a health colour-coded system that will be tied to the government’s “Leave Home Safe” app.

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Hong Kong health chief says any hotel quarantine reduction will be based on Covid infection data

Opening up to mainland China will be equally important as opening up to the rest of the world, Chow said.

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