- A high-profile investor in HSBC (HSBC -3.2%) and Standard Chartered (OTCPK:SCBFF -2.2%), both London-based banks with substantial business in Hong Kong and Asia, criticized the banks for backing a new national security law in Hong Kong without understanding its details or its potential impact.
- U.K.-based asset manager, Aviva Investors, is a top 20 shareholder in both banks.
- “We are uneasy at the decisions of HSBC and Standard Chartered to publicly support the proposed new national security law in Hong Kong without knowing the details of the law or how it will operate in practice,” David Cumming, the chief investment officer for equities at Aviva Investors, said Tuesday.
- HSBC backed the law after pro-Beijing figures and Chinese state media criticized the bank for not supporting the national security law.
- “If companies make political statements, they must accept the corporate responsibilities that follow,” Cumming said.
- China imposed the law, saying it was needed to restore order in Hong Kong after a year of protests. The U.S., the U.K., and a group of other governments say the law undermines Hong Kong's autonomy, which was part of the agreement when U.K. handed the territory back to China in 1997.