Chief Executive of SBI Holdings, Kitao Yoshitaka has disclosed plans to withdraw his investments from the city of Hong Kong over the National Security Laws that Beijing is currently implementing in Hong Kong.
The executive of the largest online brokerage, is of the opinion that Hong Kong is fast becoming a problematic place for financial institutions due to the increased clamp down on freedom.
He was quoted as saying “without freedom, there is no financial business” and “people are getting arrested one after another”.
He is looking to divest his investments from China to other countries such as Singapore or Shanghai. He raised the same concerns with London, citing that the Brexit has robbed the city as the optimal financial centre in Europe.
If speculations are anything to go by, Kitao is not the only Japanese financial institution seeking to leave Hong Kong considering their new status as a part of the mainland china expansion.
Kitao is currently pushing to establish the SBI as Japan’s fourth megabank.