Why Some Hong Kongers Are Leaving But Big Money Isn’t

China has effectively crushed Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement over the past year, calling into question the civil liberties and rule of law that helped make the city an international financial hub. Yet even as the U.S. government warns businesses about the risks -- and many activists and others in the former British colony seek to emigrate -- signs of an investor exodus are harder to find. For many global businesses Hong Kong is still the main gateway to the lucrative mainland market. How long this divergence between business and politics can continue is an open question.

Global financial institutions have flagged plans to hire staff in the city to grab a bigger slice of business in China’s Greater Bay Area, a region that includes megacities Shenzhen and Guangzhou. Citigroup Inc. for example, plans to pull out of 13 markets across Asia and Europe but not Hong Kong, where it will establish a regional wealth hub and hire hundreds of new relationship managers and private bankers. Employment in the finance and insurance sectors rose in 2020 while BlackRock Inc. and Bank of America Corp.’s have both said tensions won’t affect their operations in Hong Kong.