The city of Shanghai is in danger of losing its status as a financial hub, as international bankers and traders consider fleeing the city to escape its brutal coronavirus lockdown — and the perpetual threat of further lockdowns imposed without notice under China’s “dynamic zero-Covid” policies.
Reuters on Tuesday reported Shanghai’s four-week lockdown “has started to weigh on prospective financial deals with some transactions being put on hold due to logistical challenges.”
A private equity investor named Melvyn Xu said he was thinking about moving his family to Hong Kong as soon as possible, retaining Shanghai “as a ground for work only.” Others spoke of taking their business interests with them when they relocate:
“Once this lockdown is over, expats across all industries will negotiate a new career outside of China,” said Jason Tan, Shanghai-based director specializing in wealth, buyside and fintech at headhunter REForce group.
Conversations with financial professionals in Shanghai have shown deep concerns about the lockdown measures, Tan said. “(It’s) not very attractive moving forward … This lockdown can happen again. Next time it might be longer and tighter.”
Shanghai’s 25 million residents have been under lockdown since early April as authorities try to curb an Omicron-fueled outbreak. (AFP)
Common complaints from unhappy financial industry workers included the surprise imposition of Shanghai’s lockdown – a common feature of China’s “dynamic zero-Covid” policy, as the government does not want residents fleeing from cities about to be quarantined — to the stony indifference of the authorities to citizen complaints, and the sense of helplessness experienced under draconian coronavirus restrictions.
In this photo released by China’s Xinhua News Agency, a volunteer uses a megaphone to talk to residents at an apartment building in Shanghai, China, Tuesday, April 12, 2022. (Chen Jianli/Xinhua via AP)
“I…