
Please try another search
By Alun John
HONG KONG (Reuters) - Financial institutions think business conditions in Hong Kong and mainland China will deteriorate in the coming years, although they plan to keep investing in both markets, a survey by an industry association found.
The results suggest banks and asset managers are concerned about this year's sweeping regulatory changes associated with President Xi Jinping's "common prosperity" policy, though rules for financial institutions have largely remained unchanged.
The survey published Wednesday by the Asia Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (Asifma), which represents large global financial firms, showed 46% of their members expected the regulatory and operating environment in Hong Kong would become more challenging in the next three years and 37% said the same about mainland China.
These were the only Asian markets where more respondents expected things to get worse than remain the same or improve.
Nonetheless, 84% said they were expanding their operations on the mainland, and 54% in Hong Kong.
In China, Asifma members "see a lot of positives when it comes to market development, but the fallout from 'common prosperity' is making life more challenging. Data is a good example, as is what is happening in the property market," said Mark Austen, the group's chief executive.
Authorities are strengthening rules governing how companies must handle customer data, including restrictions on transferring information overseas, a challenge for financial firms wanting to integrate their Chinese and global businesses.
"This goes beyond financial services, but they are collateral damage," said Austen.
Asifma has also pointed to Hong Kong and China's strict quarantine and visa restrictions under their zero-COVID policies as additional challenges..
Austen said financial firms in Hong Kong also feared legislation that would penalise financial institutions for enforcing foreign sanctions.
There was also uncertainty about how a National Security Law imposed on Hong Kong last year by Beijing would affect financial services.
By Matt Spetalnick WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Biden administration has not invited the governments of Venezuela and Nicaragua to the U.S.-hosted Summit of the Americas next month,...
By Jan Wolfe (Reuters) -Former U.S. President Donald Trump must testify under oath in the New York Attorney General’s civil investigation into his business practices, an...
By Vivek Mishra BENGALURU (Reuters) - New Zealand's house prices are forecast to sink 9.0% this year as aggressive interest rate hikes take some heat out of the blazing housing...
Are you sure you want to block %USER_NAME%?
By doing so, you and %USER_NAME% will not be able to see any of each other's Investing.com's posts.
%USER_NAME% was successfully added to your Block List
Since you’ve just unblocked this person, you must wait 48 hours before renewing the block.
I feel that this comment is:
Thank You!
Your report has been sent to our moderators for review
Add a Comment
We encourage you to use comments to engage with other users, share your perspective and ask questions of authors and each other. However, in order to maintain the high level of discourse we’ve all come to value and expect, please keep the following criteria in mind:
Enrich the conversation, don’t trash it.
Stay focused and on track. Only post material that’s relevant to the topic being discussed.
Be respectful. Even negative opinions can be framed positively and diplomatically. Avoid profanity, slander or personal attacks directed at an author or another user. Racism, sexism and other forms of discrimination will not be tolerated.
Perpetrators of spam or abuse will be deleted from the site and prohibited from future registration at Investing.com’s discretion.