Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam has a stronger presence for HSBC Holdings Plc, while hitting the UK, both for the bank’s contempt and for the failure of the coronavirus content, while Prime Minister Boris Johnson opens the door to move millions of people across the territory.
In an interview with Bloomberg Television on Thursday, Lam said he would like to “see” HSBC expand into Hong Kong, where it has been heavily criticized for freezing activists’ accounts and supporting the financial center’s national security law. Lam also said that China will probably not take action against creditors who comply with US sanctions, which the law prohibits.
“I don’t see why the Central People’s Government would take this kind of action,” Lam said. The Hong Kong chief executive added that her government “will continue to work with the Hong Kong banking industry, not only to grow its business in Hong Kong, but also for the Greater Bay area, because that is where Hong Kong’s power lies.”
Lam has tried to persuade multinational companies to stay in the territory even as the US, Britain and other Western nations criticize China for silencing democracy advocates following historic protests in 2019. Britain will begin accepting on Sunday visa applications for as much as 2.9 million British citizens (overseas) eligible for a passport, residents of Hong Kong, as well as their dependents, who together represent almost 70% of the city’s population.
Lam said he did not see how many people would like to move to the UK, noting that the National Health Service is under “extraordinary pressure” while praising Hong Kong hospitals. However, she said she would respect the decisions of anyone who wanted to move and said the government must work to improve its lives.
‘Grilled’
The Hong Kong government has embraced integration with China since the riots hit the city, promoting the Greater Bay Area concept, which seeks to create a Silicon Valley-style regional economic zone with nearby mainland cities, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. In a meeting with Lam on Wednesday, President Xi Jinping praised her as saying that Hong Kong should be governed by “patriots ”.
Lam’s comments about HSBC came after he said CEO Noel Quinn was “grilled” for complying with Hong Kong law. On Tuesday, he defended the bank’s move to freeze a former Hong Kong lawmaker when he was heard by British lawmakers.
Quinn said the decision was simply driven by the need to comply with local laws and was unable to make a “moral or political judgment” on such issues, he said. He added that “they are trying to stay out of one country’s policy towards another and do what our customers need.”
The London-based bank, which considers Hong Kong to be its largest market, has been caught in the midst of growing tensions, while China is tightening control over the former British colony. The bank has faced criticism in China for cooperating with the investigation into Huawei Technologies Co. and rebuked Washington and London after its top Asian director publicly approved a controversial security law imposed on the city last year.
China is key to the bank’s rotation plans, which include the transfer of billions of capital for expansion into Asia and downsizing in Europe and the US
Record the contraction
Lam called the Hong Kong regulatory regime “rule-based”, in contrast to what she called “politically driven” US sanctions. He said he understood why people and companies were considering alternatives to the territory, but said “money has not moved yet.”
Photographer: Takaaki Iwabu / Bloomberg
“Hong Kong will continue to strengthen our competitiveness to attract more capital,” she said.
Official data for Friday is likely to show that Hong Kong’s economy has shrunk by a record 6% in 2020, the second consecutive year of contraction, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg. The city is set to unveil its budget in February.
Lam said the Hong Kong economy has a very good chance of positive growth this year, subject to the pandemic. She pointed to the improvement in export and import growth figures in the second half of last year as signs of a recovery and said spending on retailers and restaurants will increase as virus restrictions are lifted. Lam said it is necessary to stimulate the economy to create jobs.
Lam continued to defend the security law, saying he allowed political opposition in Hong Kong as long as no one crossed a “red line.” Asked if she would seek a second term in 2022, she said, “I’m not answering that question.”
– With the assistance of Alfred Liu, Ambereen Choudhury and Eric Lam
(Updates with more context in the sixth paragraph)