British banks “absolutely” welcome in Hong Kong

Aside from HSBC, Standard Chartered is also assured to find a home in Hong Kong if it decides to relocate.

A Bloomberg report said, “Hong Kong would ‘absolutely’ welcome London-based banks HSBC Holdings Plc and Standard Chartered Plc if they decided to move headquarters to the former British territory, according to Chief Executive Donald Tsang.”

Mr Tsang was quoted as saying, “If HSBC or Standard Chartered were to change headquarters it would not undermine their business at all. They already have a healthy line of business in Asia.”

The Chief Executive is in London to promote Hong Kong as a financial center to British business leaders. However, he said that it was ultimately a decision for the banks and, according to the report, he didn’t “want to encourage a move that would impair relations” with trading partners like London.

View the report here.