JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs Impacted By HK’s Strict COVID Rules

HONG KONG – The local branches of multinational financial firms JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group were placed under mandatory testing after some cases were linked to their workplaces there, reported Bloomberg on Wednesday noon (29 September).

The compulsory testing notices impacted the workplaces of JPMorgan in Kwun Tong and that of Goldman Sachs in Causeway Bay. Any individuals who have visited the JPMorgan’s office on Monday (27 September), as well as those who were present at Goldman Sachs’ workspace from 5-10 September need to undergo testing.

In particular, the case at JPMorgan was non-locally confirmed, while that for Goldman Sachs’ is connected to an individual who had returned to Hong Kong after spending less than 21 days overseas. Representatives from both financial firms refused to comment on the matter.

Companies in the Chinese territory are increasingly getting displeased with the city’s stringent testing and quarantine rules. Compared to other countries that have reopened, Hong Kong’s strategy of maintaining zero COVID cases has made it lag behind rival financial hubs like New York and London.

Overall, Hong Kong’s government has issued testing notices to over 30 sites, in addition to extensive testing at learning institutions in the past 2 days. Inbound travellers to the city are also required to undergo quarantine for up to 21 days to keep COVID cases to zero as the Chinese territory plans to reopen its border to mainland China.