China Prods State Firms to Boost Investment in Crisis-Hit Hong Kong, Sources Say

China Prods State Firms to Boost Investment in Crisis-Hit Hong Kong, Sources Say
A junk boat passes the skyline as seen from the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront in Hong Kong, China on Aug. 27, 2019. Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters
Reuters
Updated:

SINGAPORE—China has called on its biggest state firms to take a more active role in Hong Kong, including stepping up investment and asserting more control of companies in the financial hub, executives familiar with the matter said, as Beijing attempts to calm months of unrest in the city.

At a meeting this week in Shenzhen, the city bordering Hong Kong, senior representatives from nearly 100 of China’s largest state-run companies were urged to do their part to help cool China’s biggest political crisis in years, three executives, including one who was present, told Reuters.