Hong Kong markets to open as normal as regulators, government, banks prep contingency plans
- City’s financial secretary meets HKEX officials, regulators to discuss contingency arrangements as Wuhan viral outbreak worsens
- HKEX had already cancelled Year of the Rat ceremony for Wednesday
Hong Kong’s Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po met financial regulators and officials from bourse operator Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) to discuss reopening the stock market as planned on Wednesday, reviewing contingency arrangements as the death toll from the viral outbreak in central China crossed 100.
The move comes even as city officials called on civil servants and private sector employees to work from home the rest of the week because of the outbreak.
The HKEX had already announced it would cancel the annual gathering to celebrate the first trading day of the Year of the Rat because of the increasing risk from the virus.
“The financial secretary appealed to financial organisations to make special work arrangements for their employees as far as practicable, so as to work together to reduce the risk of the spread of the novel coronavirus in the community,” the city’s government said on Tuesday.
The coronavirus outbreak, which is believed to have originated at a wet market in Wuhan in Hubei province, has afflicted more than 4,600 people worldwide and killed more than 100 people.
