The Wall Street Journal is out with a report that “the corporate retreat from Hong Kong is accelerating.”

What started a few years ago, with some companies becoming uneasy about ties to mainland China is, "now turning into a broad retreat involving banks, investment firms and technology companies.”

"The number of U.S. companies operating in the city has fallen for four years in a row, by Hong Kong’s count, hitting 1,258 in June 2022, the fewest since 2004. Last year, mainland Chinese companies with regional headquarters in Hong Kong outnumbered American ones for the first time in at least three decades."

“ 'Coming to Hong Kong used to be 'a fairly risk-free matter,’  said Simon Cartledge, who runs a research and publishing company in the city and is the author of “A System Apart: Hong Kong’s Political Economy from 1997 until Now”. 'Now, it’s not a risk-free place. There are question marks over everything.’ ”

"Few multinational companies have an interest in abandoning their operations in China, still an important market, ” the article reported, "But more of them are either choosing to be in mainland China or setting up their Asian hubs in Singapore, long Hong Kong’s rival as the region’s financial and business center.”