Covid Restrictions Made HK Less Liveable: Consultancy

Hong Kong has slid 15 places in an annual ranking of the most liveable locations worldwide for expats, with the company behind the study saying Covid restrictions imposed last year led many employees to look elsewhere.

Human resources consultancy ECA International released its annual liveability rankings on Wednesday with Hong Kong placed 92nd out of more than 500 locations. The study, carried out in November each year, assesses factors, from housing and utilities to infrastructure, personal safety, leisure facilities and political tensions.

ECA's regional director for Asia, Lee Quane, said Hong Kong lagged behind other regional cities such as Singapore, which retained top spot as the most liveable place for expats from East Asia, and Tokyo, which rose to second, adding that talented employees had left the SAR for these locations.

"Asian locations fell in the rankings in 2021 on account of the fact that they had stricter Covid-19 mitigation policies. However, as many of those locations relaxed their social distancing restrictions throughout 2022, they started to reappear once again in the top 10," he said.

But Quane said the situation was different in Hong Kong.

"Covid restrictions in Hong Kong were still quite strict last year, including restrictions on travelling into Hong Kong and the mask mandate. Such restrictions had vanished in most of the locations in the region," he said.

"That should be a concern for employers who have international staff because essentially, they may compare Hong Kong's quality of living with these locations, and they may consider these locations more favourable for them in the future."

Quane says he expects Hong Kong to rise slightly in the ranking this year after all Covid restrictions are eased, but he pointed out that the recovery would be slow and Hong Kong was unlikely to return to pre-pandemic living standards this year.

The SAR had relaxed pandemic measures, such as social distancing rules and compulsory quarantine for inbound travellers, with Covid patients no longer obliged to self-isolate since January 30.

Chief Executive John Lee said last month that he hoped to scrap all Covid measures this year, which included ending the compulsory mask wearing.

In his Policy Address last year, Lee announced special visa arrangements and tax concessions on home purchases to help lure skilled workers from the mainland and overseas to the SAR. He launched what was described as a "trawl for talent" after acknowledging that the SAR's workforce had shrunk by 140,000 over the previous two years.