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Foreign Co's in HK Down 0.1%

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  1. #11

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    Feb 2019
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    Quote Originally Posted by rkenia852:
    A related question would be whether employees (present and future) support a move to either locales more so in the post Corona world?
    I have colleagues who [pre Corona] commute from Shenzhen already.

    Ask them if they want to cut their commute by 75%, I guess they will go for it.

  2. #12

    Join Date
    Oct 2018
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    487
    Quote Originally Posted by JAherbert:
    CANT EDIT TITLE should be tenth

    not significant govt says: the overall number of foreign companies in Hong Kong in 2020 fell by a tenth of a percent, to 9,025, the number of UK firms with Hong Kong offices fell to 665 this year, a decrease of 6.7 percent, the number of American companies dropped by 4.5 percent to 1,283 (compared to 2019). How many moved to Singapore or China was not mentioned

    https://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/compone...5-20201128.htm
    I am surprised there are only 9,025 foreign companies in Hong Kong. "Singapore’s Economic Development Board (EDB) reports that more than 37,000 international companies, including 7,000 MNCs, have their headquarters in Singapore."

    Did the HK government use a definition of "foreign companies" that favours the narrative?

    So UK companies fell from 713 to 665, while US companies fell from 1,343 to 1283. In total a drop of 108 foreign companies. So the 107 companies that opened are from which country? The big brother on the west?

  3. #13

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    Oct 2018
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    487
    Quote Originally Posted by Viktri:
    I know a guy who does a lot of expat headhunting and owns a firm (places senior expats) that has operations in HK, SG, etc. and he was saying that the National Security Law basically had zero direct impact on his business as there was almost zero job movement in either direction (leave or returning to HK) but the coronavirus was absolutely devastating on his business.

    The indirect impact of the NSL is that companies are in cost cutting mode so if they don't need someone in HK, they might simply eliminate the position instead of re-hiring/replacing a HK expat that leaves.

    Bloomberg media was trying to push the narrative that businesses would leave HK and have invited Amcham on a few times but Amcham says that they haven't seen much movement. My guess is amcham businesses that set up shop in HK probably lean pro-China in the first place and are happy with the policies.
    How would your friend know if companies don't hire because of the virus or the NSL? If I had an office in SIngapore, one in HK, and one in Shanghai I know which one I would slowly shrink.
    Jackie1 likes this.

  4. #14

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    Quote Originally Posted by Viktri:
    I know a guy who does a lot of expat headhunting and owns a firm (places senior expats) that has operations in HK, SG, etc. and he was saying that the National Security Law basically had zero direct impact on his business as there was almost zero job movement in either direction (leave or returning to HK) but the coronavirus was absolutely devastating on his business.

    The indirect impact of the NSL is that companies are in cost cutting mode so if they don't need someone in HK, they might simply eliminate the position instead of re-hiring/replacing a HK expat that leaves.

    Bloomberg media was trying to push the narrative that businesses would leave HK and have invited Amcham on a few times but Amcham says that they haven't seen much movement. My guess is amcham businesses that set up shop in HK probably lean pro-China in the first place and are happy with the policies.
    The company I work for no longer have any contracts based on HK Law. 7 years before most of the Pan-Asian contracts were based on HK law.
    Jackie1 likes this.

  5. #15

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    Dec 2012
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    83
    Quote Originally Posted by john_1122:
    How would your friend know if companies don't hire because of the virus or the NSL? If I had an office in SIngapore, one in HK, and one in Shanghai I know which one I would slowly shrink.

    I agree with this. I think companies are less likely also to directly indicate the NSL as their reason for decreasing hiring here so as to be sensitive to political retribution. But I predict we will see positions slowly and without fanfare moving elsewhere.
    AsianXpat0, Gatts and NateM like this.

  6. #16

    Join Date
    Nov 2010
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    HK
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    1,180

    And here's the numbers that matter from Nikkei:

    2.8% drop in number of non mainland and local firms
    10,000 fewer foreign staff (about 2% drop)

    https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Fin...us-in-11-years

    Gatts, Jackie1, shri and 3 others like this.