Hong Kong’s Financial Sector Faces Talent Crunch as Expats Head for the Exit

Hong Kong’s Financial Sector Faces Talent Crunch as Expats Head for the Exit
A Star Ferry boat crosses Victoria Harbor in front of a skyline of buildings during sunset, as a meeting on national security legislation takes place in Hong Kong, on June 29, 2020. Tyrone Siu/Reuters
Reuters
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HONG KONG—Late last year, Tania Sibree quit her well-paid job as a financial services lawyer in Hong Kong and returned to Australia rather than live a moment longer with the city’s strict coronavirus restrictions.

Sibree, who said she had enjoyed the previous five years in Hong Kong, is one of hundreds—possibly thousands—of foreign expatriate professionals who have left or are planning to leave, threatening to dent the city’s standing as one of the world’s financial hubs.