AmCham Says It Is Aware Of HK Risks

The American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong (AmCham) says the city has a crucial role to play as an international business hub and that the chamber is well aware of the increasingly complicated geopolitical environment and its risks.

AmCham issued the statement on Friday, as a US State Department advisory said businesses and individuals in Hong Kong faced risks under the national security law. The US also sanctioned seven officials at the Liaison Office in Hong Kong, saying the SAR's freedoms were being undermined.

"Hong Kong remains a critical and vibrant facilitator of trade and financial flow between the East and West. Hong Kong has one of the best developed infrastructures in Asia, it has an internationally recognised system of commercial law, it has a more open and sophisticated digital infrastructure than many of its Asian peers. Its financial market is among the top five in the world," AmCham said - though it also admitted the environment had become more complex and challenging.

The chamber said it had just bought a new site in Central from where it hoped to foster dialogue, share ideas, and espouse the values of transparency, free flow of information, rule of law and good governance.

The SAR government said the sanctions were based on "totally ridiculous and unfounded fear-mongering". It said the security law had helped the SAR move "from chaos to order", and had restored business confidence.