The head of the Mandarin Oriental luxury hotel group is pushing for his executive team to be temporarily based outside Hong Kong, saying the isolated city has become a “very poor” base as a result of strict coronavirus restrictions.
The $2.7bn group is majority owned by Jardine Matheson, one of Hong Kong’s oldest business empires, and operates hotels and properties in more than 20 countries. But the recovery of its Hong Kong business from the pandemic has been constrained by the city’s decision to follow Beijing’s “zero Covid” strategy and severely limit international travel.
James Riley, Mandarin Oriental’s chief executive, who recently returned to Hong Kong after 10 months overseas, told the Financial Times that it had become infeasible for his team to remain in the city, where authorities have closed schools, gyms and restaurants after 6pm to combat a surge in cases.