HSBC Is Navigating Dangerous Waters on Hong Kong
By supporting the national security law, the British-based bank is pointing to an even bigger shift of its resources to China. But at what cost?
Pick a side.
Photographer: Lam Yik/Bloomberg
HSBC Holdings Plc is stuck between a rock and a hard place. Hong Kong is the London-headquartered bank’s biggest profit generator and the sprawling giant has increasingly been caught up in the escalation of tensions between China, Hong Kong and the West. If that weren’t enough, HSBC is in the midst of a long-overdue restructuring that’s been complicated by the Covid-19 pandemic’s economic fallout.
By joining the ranks of Hong Kong business interests that are backing the Beijing-sponsored national security law, which is opposed by the U.K., HSBC is pointing clearly to an even bigger shift of its resources to China. But at what cost?