The financial turmoil that has run alongside the pandemic has thrown a number of questions into the air, so the report says, including whether certain Asia-linked banks might relocate their corporate headquarters.

A senior Hong Kong government minister reportedly said that HSBC and Standard Chartered would be welcome to move their headquarters to Hong Kong, coming at a time when turmoil in financial markets is raising questions over where lenders might be located.

HSBC has always had a lot of operations in Asia and Hong Kong, while a substantial portion of its profitability also comes from the region. Likewise, Standard Chartered Bank also has a big exposure to Hong Kong and Asia. "The regulations and business opportunities in Hong Kong are very good. We would welcome it – if HSBC or Standard Chartered Bank decide to relocate here,” James Lau Yee-cheong, the city’s secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, told the South China Morning Post (6 April). 

This isn’t the first time questions have been raised about where such UK-listed banks will have their headquarters in future. In the run-up and aftermath of the UK’s Brexit vote HSBC reviewed its options, choosing to keep its HQ in London. 

A few days ago HSBC and other major UK-listed banks cancelled dividend payments scheduled for Q4 2019 and coming quarters to protect capital. 

Separately, HSBC has embarked on a major business restructuring, building a new division in which its private bank sits, as well as cutting risk exposures to improve return on equity and cut capital costs. 

In both cases, Standard Chartered and HSBC earn significant chunks of revenue in Asia-Pacific. HSBC was founded in Hong Kong in the 1860s. 

An adverse factor for Hong Kong as a corporate HQ venue has been concern about the political unrest in the Asian jurisdiction, which broke out last June and lasted for months until the COVID-19 virus hit earlier this year.