The Hong Kong-based Bank of East Asia Ltd (BEA) has warned that weeks of protests in Hong Kong could hit the economies of the Chinese-ruled city and mainland China itself as demonstrators headed for a sit-in at the subway site of a mid-summer mob attack.
It also warned that social unrest in Hong Kong and a trade dispute between China and the US could affect the economies of China and the former British colony.
Some Hong Kong companies have been dragged into controversy after 11 weeks of sometimes violent clashes between police and pro-democracy protesters, angered by a perceived erosion of freedoms.
Pilots and cabin crew at Cathay Pacific Airways described a “white terror” of political denunciations, sackings and phone searches by Chinese aviation officials.
In the meantime, as Hong Kong gears up for another weekend of protests, the Canadian Consulate in Hong Kong has banned staff from travelling outside the city, including to mainland China.
The move comes days after a British Consulate worker was detained there.
The Chinese government’s announcement this week that Simon Cheng Man-kit has been detained in the city of Shenzhen has stoked tensions in Hong Kong, which has been gripped by months of anti-government protests.
The Canadian Consulate said in a statement on Friday: “At present, locally engaged staff will not undertake official business travel outside of Hong Kong.”
