HONG KONG: Some global banks, funds and other financial services providers say they are stepping up hiring in Hong Kong, in a sign the city's unique position as a financial gateway to China is outweighing concerns about Beijing's tightening grip over it. Goldman Sachs Group Inc, Citigroup Inc, UBS AG and other banks are each hiring hundreds of people in the city this year, adding substantially to their existing ranks.
Hong Kong police have asked some banks to hand over account details of opposition activists and politicians arrested under a stringent national security law imposed by Beijing, and the government has threatened jail time for bankers handling assets belonging to media tycoon Jimmy Lai frozen under the new law. Hong Kong's financial regulators declined to comment on banks' hiring plans or some bankers' disquiet about the political tightening.