Eased Covid curbs bring hopes of reopening, but more needed to attract talent to Hong Kong: head of British Chamber of Commerce
- Chairwoman Anne Kerr says Hong Kong has ‘fantastic infrastructure’, but warns lack of visitors has caused world to forget city’s advantages
- Kerr adds there is now ‘clarity that we’re not going to reverse direction, but will be going forward’
Hong Kong’s gradual easing of Covid-19 curbs has given the business community hope of further reopening, but more needs to be done to bring in overseas talent and ensure the city remains competitive, the new chairwoman of the British Chamber of Commerce has said.
The chamber’s No 2 official, meanwhile, said the city’s negative image in Britain, combined with Covid-19 restrictions, remained a barrier to attracting talent, despite information from the business group showing most major UK companies in Hong Kong planned to stay.
Speaking to the Post, Anne Kerr, who succeeded Peter Burnett in September, said encouraging people to come to Hong Kong was important amid increasing global competition for talent, with the city’s anti-epidemic measures having closed it off from much of the world.
“It’s very important that people recognise and see the scale of infrastructure and the opportunities which exist,” said Kerr, who is also the managing director for Greater China and global head of cities at consultancy Mott MacDonald.
“Hong Kong has fantastic infrastructure, which is world-class, and quite amazing by anybody’s standards. But while people are not visiting, they may have forgotten.”
In September, the local government launched the “0+3” travel scheme, scrapping the mandatory hotel quarantine requirement for inbound travellers and replacing it with a three-day medical surveillance period, with limited citywide movement.
