Hong Kong: international companies reconsider future in wake of security law

Businesses reassess presence in territory amid curbs on movement and doubts about legal system's reliability, with many building up offices in Singapore

International companies are being forced to reconsider their future in Hong Kong as China's crackdown on civil liberties and the freedom of media and tech companies continues to gather pace, according to leading business figures in the region.

With businesses already facing restrictions because of the pandemic, the introduction of the national security law last year and the government shutdown of the pro-democracy Apple Daily newspaper have sparked its biggest-ever exodus of people and rocked confidence in a city once synonymous with vibrant economic activity.