Hong Kong-listed shares of AIA Group, HSBC Holdings and Standard Chartered PLC fell sharply on Friday on growing concerns that Beijing’s tighter capital controls could dent the business of global financial firms with exposure to mainland China.
Soon after the market open on Friday, AIA was down more than 3%, while HBSC fell nearly 2%. Standard Chartered dropped roughly 3% while Bank of East Asia lost more than 2%.
Overnight, London-traded shares of HSBC, StandChart and Prudential fell sharply, following a South China Morning Post report that residents of mainland China were facing greater constraints on opening offshore accounts at major Hong Kong banks.
The SCMP also said that staff members at a branch of HSBC in Lujiazui cautioned that all funds deposited into investment accounts must comply with Hong Kong’s regulatory requirements.
Banks have been tightening scrutiny on cross-border investment involving mainland Chinese clients after China tightened capital controls on May 22 and punished brokers it accused of illegally operating in China without licenses.
Hong Kong regulators have also urged banks to check investors’ sources of funds, and close accounts with suspicious or forged documents.
HSBC, StanChart, Prudential, AIA and Bank of East Asia did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.
Reuters
