In proof that the law of supply and demand applies to pay along with other facts of economic life, a report says that bankers who choose to stay in Hong Kong rather than leave are winning in pay and promotions – at least for the time being.

Hong Kong-based bankers and others in the finance industry choosing to stay despite the jurisdiction’s harsh Covid-19 measures can win pay raises and big promotions, at least in the short term, according to Bloomberg.

Finance workers in the city would usually obtain a 15 per cent pay rise when moving to a new employer, but now such a rise is more likely to be between 20 to 30 per cent, the news organisation quoted a headhunter as saying.

An outflow of bankers, particularly Westerners, from Hong Kong means that those who remain have more labour market leverage. 

WealthBriefingAsia has heard from industry sources that many Western bankers who had moved out to Hong Kong in recent years were waiting for the late winter/spring bonus season before heading back home. Besides the strict measures against the pandemic – still in force with some relaxations – the mainland’s national security law of 2020 and unrest in Hong Kong has taken some shine off its image. 

More positively, the introduction last year of the Wealth Connect regime, tightening the financial links between Hong Kong, mainland China and Macao, is seen as a boon for Hong Kong. And the Hong Kong stock market is still one of the world’s busiest.

The newswire’s article said that more than 140,000 more people have departed from Hong Kong this year than have arrived, almost four times the total for all of 2021. The report, citing government data, said the number of new visas issued to foreign financial service workers fell to 2,569 last year, down by almost 50 per cent from 2018.