Reopening of Hong Kong-China border no quick fix for ailing city

Bloomberg

After three long years, checkpoints at the border separating Hong Kong from mainland China are set to reopen from Sunday in a move that’s seen as having a muted impact on the city initially.
Businesses in the city face a number of challenges, which partly stem from the lengthy
closure. Wealthy mainland Chinese took their business to
Singapore, which opened its borders earlier last year. Factory owners shifted manufacturing from China to countries in Southeast Asia. Local hotel and catering firms are struggling with a shortage of manpower after employees found work elsewhere. Hundreds of thousands of people left Hong Kong.
The reopening will be a slow process. There will be a limit of about 60,000 people allowed to travel into the mainland from the financial hub every day, Chief Executive John Lee said at a briefing. People travelling in either direction will need to show a 48-hour negative PCR test result, while some land border control points will stay shut for now.
The cost of separation has been huge. Natixis SA estimates Hong Kong’s economy lost $27 billion in potential growth due to the effects of the pandemic and the city’s strict Covid curbs. In 2019, there were more than 236 million passenger trips via land crossings with the mainland, which all but evaporated since.
The city faces other struggles. Surging borrowing costs are blunting the outlook for companies. The government’s tougher stance towards civil liberties has raised questions over Hong Kong’s commitment to the
rule of law. China’s economic outlook remains clouded as Covid sweeps unchecked across the country. A dropoff in global demand has dented the city’s trade, too.