BreakingviewsHong Kong-on-Thames lies in not-too-distant future
Karen Kwok
7 minute read
A picture is taken in Convoys Wharf, a riverside site in Deptford in London, Britain, February 14, 2021.
On the south bank of the River Thames in London, halfway between London Bridge and Greenwich, is a plot of land that has been deserted for about 15 years. A heavily guarded fence is the only clue for passing pedestrians that the derelict 17-hectare site is potentially valuable. If all goes to plan, however, it could soon become a high-profile symbol of Hong Kongâs growing influence in the British capital.
For CK Asset (1113.HK), the plot known as Convoys Wharf is a long-term bet. The $22 billion property group founded by Li Ka-shing, Hong Kongâs best-known tycoon, spent years fighting for approvals to build homes there after purchasing the former Royal Navy base for 100 million pounds in 2005. Permission came through last July, just as Prime Minister Boris Johnson unveiled a new
Many of these are believed to be EU nationals.
The exodus has prompted fears by the hospitality and retail industries that it could lead to a labour shortage in London just as the economy prepares to open up.
“All the evidence we’ve had, anecdotally but also evidence from some of the businesses we’ve spoken to, is these are boomerang Londoners, they’re going to come back and that’s why it’s really important to get the recovery right,” Sadiq Khan said.
“What we don’t want, it would be the worst of all worlds, is if businesses have an employment shortage, which doesn’t make sense at all.
Worker exodus will be reversed if jobs come rushing back
Britain will be more attractive to foreign workers if the vaccine scheme prompts a stronger rebound, Goldman economist says
7 April 2021 • 6:16pm
Britain is set to become a magnet for international workers again if the vaccine allows a more rapid reopening of the economy, according to a top economist.
Large chunks of the EU are going back into lockdown as the latest wave of Covid sweeps the continent, meaning those who left Britain in the tough first wave may be tempted to return to the stronger economy.
“Given substantial differences in vaccine rollout progress and Covid restrictions between the UK and EU countries, we are expecting an earlier and stronger initial rebound in the UK,” says Steffan Ball, an economist at Goldman Sachs.
Boomer generation s retirement will hurt economy
Lower immigration will also contribute to an economic slowdown that threatens to overshadow this decade
5 April 2021 • 7:02pm
Britain’s ageing population and lower rates of immigration will put the brakes of economic growth in the 2020s, City forecasters have warned.
The supply of labour will be curbed by the Boomer generation retiring and an immigration clampdown, halving the growth rate in the workforce, according to Pantheon Macroeconomics.
Growth in workers will slump to an average annual rate of just 0.3pc over the next five years, down from 0.8pc in the second half of the 2010s, it predicted.