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Less… as much as possible: Hong Kong scraps curbs on arrivals, tracing app
Covid In Hong Kong: The government will lift a ban on international arrivals going to bars or eating at restaurants.
Hong Kong is scrapping some of its remaining Covid restrictions following China’s rapid shift away from the zero-tolerance approach.
The government will lift a ban on international arrivals going to bars or eating at restaurants, and stop requiring people to scan a QR code on their phones to enter venues, Chief Executive John Lee said at a press conference Tuesday. Some venues will still need proof of vaccination upon entry, he said, without mentioning whether the government intends to remove the mask mandate.
“All people want to have less restrictions as much as possible, while ensuring activities socially and economically can proceed as much as possible,” Lee said.
Covid curbs have hobbled the city’s economy and hurt its outlook as a financial hub. Economists broadly expecting gross domestic product to have contracted this year for the third time in four years, while the city’s population dropped the most in at least six decades in the 12 months through June as people fled the restrictions and a crackdown on dissent.
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Analysts welcomed the easing, saying the moves would help boost inbound tourism, although they said the bigger impact will come from the mainland reopening.
“This swift adjustment is very positive for economic sentiment,” said Michelle Lam, Greater China economist at Societe Generale SA. “As for the economy, the real shift will happen when China reopens with the rest of the world, which could be happening soon.”
The city will likely be one of the biggest beneficiaries of China’s moves to exit Covid Zero and reopen its economy, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. economists said earlier this week. They estimated Hong Kong would get a 7.6% boost to GDP as exports and tourism income climb.
Expectations for Hong Kong to drop its remaining Covid restrictions had been growing after the central government did a rapid U-turn on Covid Zero in recent weeks. Quarantine-free travel with the mainland may start as soon as next month for the first time in almost three years, local media reported.
Stocks in the city extended gains after the announcement, with the MSCI Hong Kong Index climbing as much as 1.5%. Mall operators surged, led by Wharf Real Estate Investment Co. and Jardine Matheson Holdings Ltd. Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. jumped as much as 5.2%.
“This is for sure good news for Hong Kong economy as this could boost inbound tourism,” said DBS Bank Ltd. economist Samuel Tse. “A fundamental reversal would hinge crucially on the reopen of border with mainland China. After all, almost 80% of visitors to Hong Kong were mainland Chinese tourists.”
The restrictions had meant Hong Kong struggled to attract visitors. The city hosted about 250,000 arrivals in the first nine months of this year, compared with more than 46 million in the same period in 2018 — before citywide protests in 2019 curtailed travel and the pandemic closed the mainland Chinese border.
