HSBC s Hong Kong Dilemma Is a Warning to Corporations
With apologies to Standard Chartered, London-based HSBC is the face of Hong Kong s financial industry and is one of the biggest multinational corporations in the city. In an uncomfortable but unavoidable foray into politics, HSBC recently cast its support for Beijing s national security law imposed on Hong Kong.
With that, HSBC which is short for Hong Kong Shanghai Banking Corp. has drawn fierce criticism from the U.S. and UK governments for supporting the crushing of political dissent in Hong Kong, and from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for its reluctant and delayed support as well as the bank s previous efforts in cooperating with the U.S. (more on that later).
It s a truly no-win situation, and one that many corporations that want a big piece of the mainland Chinese market may find themselves facing.