Worry about the long term effects of the political crisis in the Chinese city of Hong Kong has got private bankers in the city busy with many inquiries from investors there according to a report published by Bloomberg.

According to the report based on information from bankers and wealth managers, a section of the wealthy investors in Hong Kong are trying to devise ways to quickly shift their money out of the former British colony even though the controversial law has been shelved by the Hong Kong government. There had been weeks of protests against the law that proposed transfer of criminal suspects to the mainland for trial.

In recent weeks, a large flow of new money in Singapore from Hong Kong has been received by him, a major Asian wealth manager reportedly told Bloomberg and who did not want to be named because of the sensitive nature of the issue.

Individuals in Hong Kong with assets in the $10 million to $20 million range are the ones who are ones who are approaching the private bankers to get their money shifted, instead of the super-rich – most of whom have already made alternative arrangements for shifting of their money, one Hong Kong private banker reportedly told the Bloomberg.

“Even for those who think the protests will blow over, will die down, their conversations have become: change is coming, how are we planning?” said Clifford Ng, a managing partner at the Zhong Lun Law Firm in Hong Kong. The core business of the firm is to offer advice to the wealthy about cross-border transactions and investments.

The controversial law that aroused the continued protests cause concerns among investors and democracy advocates in Hong Kong that the new law would eliminate the legal wall that still separates the local judicial system from that of mainland China and this is being deliberately done by Beijing. That proposed law is one in a string of a number of such incidents which includes the disappearance of financier Xiao Jianhua – who was allegedly abducted from Hong Kong in 2017 by Chinese agents and has not been seen since.

Hong Kong should not be deplored publicly because of the demonstrations, the Monetary Authority of Singapore has asked of the city state’s financial institutions, even though there is a significantly increased investor interest in the Singapore, according to reports quoting sources. The reports stated that the perception that Singapore is benefitting because of the situation in Hong Kong is desired to be avoided by the MAS.

The Hong-Kong based chief executive officer for Asia at another private bank reportedly told Bloomberg that after the beginning of the protests, about four times than normal rate of client inquires are being made. The banker also said that relationship managers have already acquired hundreds of leaflets that detail the process for booking assets in other jurisdictions. However the initial inquiry frenzy that started soon after the beginning of the protests has recently slowed down because people realized that they had more time at hand than they believed earlier to shift their money is necessary, he said.

The clients are not actually shifting their money immediately but are more interested in setting up channels that would allow them to quickly move their money out of Hong Kong if necessary, said the CEO.

(Adapted from Bloomberg.com)

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