Citigroup reportedly relocates senior staff from HK to SG

According to a report on Bloomberg, Citigroup is moving half a several of its senior equities staff from Hong Kong to Singapore and other markets. This comes amidst Hong Kong’s strict pandemic restrictions which the report said is impacting operations and quality of life of employees as the Chinese territory's steadfast zero-Covid-19 approach hampers operations for global banks and the quality of life for their employees.

Meanwhile, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group also pushed for its key executives to be temporarily out of Hong Kong due to the city's stringent pandemic control strategy that caused its management to be grounded, said a recent report from Financial Times. The report said due to Hong Kong's strict pandemic-related restrictions, Mandarin Oriental's chief executive James Riley shared it was not feasible for his team to remain in Hong Kong, where the government closed schools, gyms and restaurants after 6pm to combat a surge in cases.

Riley said as a base to run a business, Hong Kong is "very, very poor today." However, he said recovery will be possible after Hong Kong regains freedom of movement.

Hong Kong is currently focused on containing the fifth wave of coronavirus and told officials to take “all necessary measures”. All schools, gyms, cinemas and public venues are shut and employees have been working from home. This has led to several movie establishments also shuttering their operations in the market.

Meanwhile, the HKRMA said on Thursday that retail traffic had taken a massive dip due to the tightened measures, down 40% from December. The association urged the government to force developers to provide rent relief for tenants.

A report in January by AmCham also said that while Hong Kong still holds many business opportunities but an array of issues, international travel restrictions to contain COVID-19 weigh heavily on both company and personal sentiment. With 6 out of 10 businesses are based in Hong Kong as their global or regional headquarters, hefty quarantine rules and travel restrictions continue to cause significant disruptions in offices outside Hong Kong, said the report. Moreover, 30% of respondents say they struggle to fill senior executive roles.

The report also said that travel restrictions also weigh heavily on sentiment about living in Hong Kong, from both a company and personal perspective. Over 40% are more likely to leave the city from a personal perspective, and over 25% of companies say they are more likely to leave Hong Kong.

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