Bank of America reportedly plans to move staff to Singapore amidst HK's pandemic control measures

Bank of America has started plans of relocating staff from Hong Kong to Singapore due to the city's COVID-19 control measures, said multiple media reports.

Financial Times said the bank’s management was identifying workers who can relocate to Singapore and considering roles in some of its business lines and operations. The report even said although the plan is still in the early stage of figuring out employees who want to quit Hong Kong, the process has started.

It added that the management of the bank described the plan as “contingency planning” and the moves could be permanent or temporary while pandemic control restrictions on travel persist. The number of employees moving to Singapore is unknown at the moment, but it is unlikely that the bank will move the entirety of any of its departments to Singapore.

Currently Hong Kong requires eligible inbound travellers and citizens to spend up to 21 days in quarantine. Passenger flights to and from eight countries, including Australia, Canada, France, the UK and the US are banned.

The news mirrors findings by the members of the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) who said they would leave the city as majority of businesses felt the government was “unconcerned” or “dismissive” about business concerns.

In its 2022 Business Sentiment Survey Report, AmCham examined a wide array of issues among its members. Around 53% of respondents said the restrictions related to the pandemic had spurred them to leave Hong Kong. Only 10% of them said they were "less unlikely" and "much less likely" to leave the city.

Hong Kong’s international travel restrictions to contain COVID-19 weighed heavily on both company and personal sentiment. With six out of 10 businesses based in Hong Kong as part of the global or regional headquarters, hefty quarantine rules and travel restrictions continued are said to be creating “significant disruptions” in offices outside Hong Kong. Over 30% of respondents had to delay new investments in Hong Kong, and 30% struggled to fill senior executive roles.

Moreover, Royal Caribbean is reportedly planning to move its cruise ship stationed in Hong Kong to Singapore due to the city's stringent pandemic control measures, according to a report from HK01. The report said Royal Caribbean's cruise ship Spectrum of the Seas will quit the city and move to Singapore, as the business in Hong Kong has been hampered with the pandemic control measures and high operating costs.

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