Banks in Hong Kong, including Goldman Sachs Group Inc and UBS Group AG, are once again tightening work rules at their offices and moving into split teams, as the detection of the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 threatens a fifth wave of infections in the territory.
In a memo to staff yesterday, Goldman announced that it was moving to split teams with half working from home over the next two weeks as of Monday.
The policy is to be in effect until Jan. 21, according to a memo that was confirmed by a spokesman.
UBS asked all business functions in Hong Kong to revert to two split teams to alternate office work week by week, while Bank of America Corp “encouraged” staff to work at home until Jan. 24.
HSBC Holdings PLC is also limiting its office capacity to 50 percent of the employees from today.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority on Friday last week sent a missive to banks to tell them to allow employees to work from home and split staff into different teams, according to a correspondence seen by Bloomberg News. The Hong Kong Economic Journal reported on the message earlier.
The measures come about seven months since business life largely returned to normal as Hong Kong’s fourth wave of infections subsided. The emergence of the Omicron variant is putting the territory’s COVID-zero strategy to the test after it detected the first local transmission in nearly seven months.
Officials on Wednesday ordered bars, gyms, swimming pools, nightclubs closed from today for two weeks and restaurants to end dine-in services at 6pm.
Wall Street banks have also backtracked on a push to refill office towers in the US, with Goldman and Citigroup Inc, among others, asking staff to work from home amid surging infections.
UBS also asked staff in Hong Kong to not go between floors to avoid potential cross contamination and to not interact socially outside the office with members of the alternate team, according to memo that was confirmed by a spokesman.
The policy, effective immediately, is to ensure the bank can continue operations in the event of an outbreak, it said.
All physical meetings are limited to a maximum of 12 people at the bank.
Goldman said that any staff that feels uncomfortable can work from home after coordinating with their manager.
Standard Chartered PLC told staff to work in split teams in Hong Kong.
“We’ve managed through multiple COVID-19 waves before so we know we can overcome this,” the bank said in a memo to its staff that was confirmed by a spokeswoman.
It urged employees to bring laptops home every day, and called on staff to avoid large-scale organized events and unnecessary social gatherings.
Hong Kong’s annual flagship Asian Financial Forum scheduled for Monday was also changed to all virtual from a hybrid physical event due to the latest tightened public health measures, the organizer announced late on Wednesday.
Frustration has been mounting among businesses in Hong Kong over its stringent quarantine rules, which require arrivals to stay at government facilities and hotels for as long three weeks.
Business groups in Hong Kong have said that it puts the territory’s status as a global financial hub at risk.
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